Paraguay Readies to Establish Bitcoin Mining Operations Using Seized ASICs
Paraguay is jumping onto the bitcoin bandwagon, joining the ranks of countries like El Salvador and Bhutan.
ANDE, the state-owned power utility company, is partnering with Morphware, an artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining company, to establish a bitcoin mining operation using the bitcoin miners seized during illegal energy theft inspections.
Morphware, which already operates in Paraguay, leveraging the hydroelectric energy of the Itaupu dam, stated that the signing of a memorandum of understanding would allow it to “explore the role of Bitcoin mining as a national-level opportunity within Paraguay’s broader energy and digital infrastructure landscape.”
Kenso Trabing, founder and CEO of Morphware, stated:
“By redeploying Bitcoin miners on regulated, utility controlled sites, we can transform unused electricity into productive compute that serves both the Bitcoin network and the global AI economy.”
Felix Sosa, President of ANDE, confirmed that the company is working towards that goal, and clarified that the bitcoin mined would not be kept, but sold at a fixed price before production.
Sosa stressed that these bitcoin would be treated as another form of selling electricity, leveraging the BTC mined as a hedge in the futures market, selling in advance the BTC that will be produced to fix the price and eliminate the risk of fluctuation in the cryptocurrency.
The move would constitute a pivot toward bitcoin from a country that, in the past, had taken moves considered hostile by several companies running bitcoin mining sites. In 2024, President Santiago Pena hiked power fees for bitcoin mining. As a result, nine mining companies stopped operations, and some considered moving to other countries, such as Brazil and El Salvador.
Paraguay is the fourth country hosting the most bitcoin hashrate, with close to 4%, behind the U.S., Russia, and China.
FAQ
What new initiative is Paraguay undertaking regarding bitcoin mining?
Paraguay is partnering with Morphware to initiate a bitcoin mining operation using miners seized during illegal energy theft inspections.What role will the Itaupu dam play in Paraguay’s bitcoin mining plans?
Morphware plans to utilize hydroelectric energy from the Itaupu dam to power the new bitcoin mining operations.How will the mined bitcoin be treated by ANDE?
ANDE’s President, Felix Sosa, confirmed that the mined bitcoin will be sold at a fixed price before production, treating it like another form of electricity sales.What recent changes have influenced Paraguay’s bitcoin mining landscape?
After a power fee hike in 2024, several mining companies ceased operations, but recent shifts now position Paraguay as the fourth largest bitcoin hashrate host globally.
