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In Paraguay, a bill providing for the regulation of cryptocurrencies and the mining of virtual assets was approved with amendments in the Chamber of Deputies. He will now return to the Senate, which adopted it last December. The Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay on Wednesday approved by 40 votes to 12 a bill regulating the mining and trading of cryptocurrencies.
Recall that the Senate in December already adopted a similar law, and now the bill will return to this body with amendments to the Chamber of Deputies. Once the Senate approves the changes, the bill in question will be handed over to the executive branch, which has not yet announced whether it will sign it or veto it.
Carlos Rehala, one of the bill’s authors, said the law aims to attract international miners to Paraguay, which has one of the lowest electricity rates in Latin America at around 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
If the bill does become law, individual and corporate miners will have to request permission for industrial electricity consumption and then apply for a license. The law also creates a registry for any natural or legal person seeking to provide cryptocurrency trading or storage services to third parties, although the concept of exchange is not included in it.
During the debate, Congressman Tadeo Rojas opposed the law, noting that the budget committee of the Chamber of Deputies recommended rejecting it. He added that the impact on job creation is small compared to the energy consumption of mining companies. In turn, supporting the bill, Congressman Sebastian Garcia said that he sets a ceiling on electricity consumption in such a way that its use is available to everyone who is engaged in mining.
It is not known whether the law will be adopted by the executive branch or whether it will still accept the right of veto. If the veto is not used, then Paraguay will become another state that will introduce cryptocurrencies and mining into the legal field. Given the general negative situation in global markets, the Paraguayan authorities are looking for any opportunity to attract investment in their economy. Since the cost of electricity in the country is very low, it is possible that many mining companies will start working in Paraguay.
Author: Ed Miscavige, Analyst at Freedman Club Crypto News
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