Chinese, Taiwanese Bitcoin Miners Eyeing Paraguay Move

Bitcoin China Cryptocurrency Latin America Mining

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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June 26, 2023 06:54 EDT

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Chinese bitcoin (BTC) miners are reportedly preparing to flock to Paraguay in their droves – with reports claiming that there could be half a million rigs online in the nation in the next three years if regulators do not block miners’ progress, with some industrial players already setting up shop in the South American nation.

Per Criptonoticias, “at least eight” Chinese “financial entities” had expressed a strong interest in “transferring their mining operations to Paraguay,” according to the Paraguayan mining firm Digital Assets’ CEO Juanjo Benítez Rickmann.

In addition to Mainland Chinese miners, Rickmann claimed that “large consortiums from other regions” are also “interested in” relocating to Paraguay, with “some from Taiwan” particularly keen.

On June 23, Rickmann wrote on Twitter that he had had a “good chat” with Alfredo Shu, the Economic Advisor to the Taiwanese Embassy in Paraguay. He wrote that Shu and he had spoken about the “current situation of Bitcoin mining,” as well as a draft bill that has recently been put before parliament seeking to institutionalize and regulate crypto mining in Paraguay.

Although many international observers claim to have been underwhelmed by the bill, which was co-authored by Digital Assets, some in the Paraguay-based crypto community are cautiously optimistic that its relatively conservative nature might at least give policymakers pause for thought.

For its part, the Taiwanese Embassy in Paraguay wrote that it had been talking about BTC with Digital Assets and had spoken about “a new business strategy that will generate many opportunities” and “becoming more and more established” in Paraguay.

Miners have long been eyeing Paraguay’s huge hydroelectric dams: Itaipú and Yacyretá, both of which generate an estimated 8,500 MW of power. Much of this currently goes to waste, however, with the nation only consuming around 3,300 MW.

The media outlets stated that the mining firms, who chose not to reveal their identities, had been in contact with Paraguayan miners – many of whom helped shape the bill – in recent weeks. The Chinese firms are reportedly keen to learn how the draft bill is progressing in parliament.

But others are not sticking around to wait to see what lawmakers come up with. Rickmann claimed that one of the Chinese mining groups “has already arrived in Paraguay” and will move to get some 90,000 rigs online “in the coming months.”
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Learn more:
– BTC Mining Migration, Challenges & Forecasts for the Post-crackdown Industry
– Shenzhen Crypto Mining Hardware Retail Hotspot Becomes a Ghost Town

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