Venezuelan authorities have cut off power to BTC miners
2 min readRegional authorities in one of the country’s key states, Carabobo, have suspended energy supplies to all registered miners and effectively shut them down. Although there were no official explanations for this measure, some people familiar with the matter state that the action was taken due to the huge energy consumption that these operations have in the zone.
The miners were suspended
Yesterday, the Carabobo regional authorities suspended the supply of energy to registered miners in a key industrial state in Venezuela without official explanation. The mining user base is reportedly consuming too much energy, endangering the power supply and electricity grid for other subscribers.
According to the local daily Criptonoticias, which was allegedly in contact with people affected by the measures, the national power corporation and Venezuelan regulator Sunacrip plan to meet to assess the situation and try to find a solution for miners who could continue to operate.
Carabobo hosts an important part of cryptocurrency mining companies BTC operating in the country and this measure affects the sustainability of these operations.
Cryptocurrency mining has been legal in Venezuela since Sunacrip passed a bill regulating mining activities in the country. However, all Venezuelans in the industry must obtain a license issued by the regulator. According to the law, miners must also describe their activities in detail and keep records of them for a period of 10 years. However, there are many miners who do not trust the government and have decided to mine without permission.
This measure could be a signal for all miners to register with the national regulator and start mining legally. Another potential reason for this suspension is the election of government party leaders this weekend.
The participants decided not to issue compromising comments on this measure until they met with the authorities responsible for taking these measures this week.
