Venezuela’s Ministry of Electric Power announced that all cryptocurrency mining farms would be separated from the national power grid (SEN).
The initiative seeks to reduce the high energy demand from these mining farms while also ensuring a reliable supply for citizens.
Raid of 2,000 mining machines
Particularly, the news came following a raid of 2,000 mining machines across the country.
The move is a component of the government’s continuing anti-corruption efforts. This resulted in the arrest of multiple officials from government agencies.
Corruption within National Superintendence of Crypto assets
The National Superintendency of Cryptoassets (Sunacrip) has been revamped following the arrest of Superintendent Joselit Ramírez.
Ramírez has ties to Tareck El Aissami, the former Petroleum Minister and president of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
On that note, El Aissami was charged with treason, embezzlement, abuse of power, money laundering, and criminal association.
Venezuelan power grid problems and mining
Venezuela has been experiencing an electricity crisis since 2009, which was exacerbated by massive blackouts in 2019 that left cities without power for up to seven days.
Regular blackouts have harmed the country’s quality of life and economic activity.
As a result, Rafael Lacava, Governor of Carabobo state, confirmed limitations on bitcoin mining.
Farms due to their high use of electricity. He encouraged people to report illegal mining operations to help hinder blackouts.
Experts blame the crisis on inadequate maintenance and investment in the power grid. Meanwhile, the government blames sabotage and pledges to modernise the state-owned power grid.
BTC and cryptocurrency mining
Overall, Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency mining are renowned for their high energy consumption.
Countries such as China and Cazaquistan have banned the activity to protect their power grids, concentrating mining in fewer locations.
To read our blog on “Crypto rally fueled by Ether, Dollar holds,” click here
