After some provinces in the country faced power outages in the last few days of 2021, the Argentine government began to inquire about the electricity consumption of Bitcoin mining companies. Cammesa, a state-owned electricity wholesaler, has sent a memo to big electricity consumers, revealing whether they are mining cryptocurrency. If so, companies should disclose their actual electricity consumption in order to coordinate price increases, and they need to invest in power infrastructure.

The Argentine government sets its sights on Bitcoin mining

The Argentine government is trying to determine the exact amount of electricity Bitcoin miners need to obtain from the national grid in order to take measures to improve the country’s current power crisis. State-owned energy wholesaler Cammesa has written to all registered large consumers, asking them to report the energy consumption of mining operations that may be hosted, including the electricity consumed by the company’s so-called “server groups”, refrigeration equipment used to cool mining machines and Other related equipment.

According to local media reports Report, The Argentine government-through the Deputy Minister of Electricity-may plan to take action to get miners to pay more for this energy, initiate a new tariff plan and allow cryptocurrency miners to invest directly in the power system. The move was aimed at alleviating the pressure on the State Grid reportedly caused by these operations. In some cases, the State Grid faced power outages, affecting more than 80,000 citizens and sparking protests.

Concealed mining operations

Local cryptocurrency expert explain Some companies have migrated to provide their space to host cryptocurrency mining operations, which has had a negative impact on the power grid. According to an unnamed source, these companies are common, and the country has more than 200 such farms, at least half of which operate in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.

It is said that the reason for hidden actions is that investors can make profits through tax avoidance. Doing things covertly can speed up the return on investment (ROI) time for mining investors. According to reports, they can recover their investment within six months, while the ROI time for other businesses can be as long as 18 months.

Due to its affordable electricity costs, Bitcoin mining companies have been paying attention to Argentina.One of these groups is Bitfarms, which has put up Large-scale mining complexes that cooperate with private third parties will ostensibly provide electricity without damaging the national grid.

What do you think of the new measures the Argentine government plans to take on Bitcoin mining? Tell us in the comments section below.

Sergio Goshenko

Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He described himself late and entered the crypto space when prices rose in December 2017. With a background in computer engineering, living in Venezuela, and being affected by the cryptocurrency boom at the social level, he offers a different perspective on the success of cryptography and how it can help people without bank accounts and underserved people.

Image Source: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons