The Senate of Paraguay has passed a bill that will regulate the trading and mining of cryptocurrencies in the country.
Paraguayan Senator Fernando Silva Facetti, one of the three authors of the bill, confirmed this on Twitter, saying Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies will discuss the bill next year.
After an “intense debate” that the Senate approved the bill that regulates the industry and commercialization of crypto assets, said Facetti.
In July, Paraguayan congressman Carlos Rejala presented a bill to regulate crypto ownership and registration of crypto mining operators.
Paraguay’s low cost of electricity is the main attraction for crypto mining companies. Besides being the lowest in the region at around $0.05 per kilowatt-hour, the South American country produces 100% of its energy via hydroelectric sources.
The bill states that Paraguay only consumes a third of the energy it produces, and regulating crypto mining activity could help them consume “thousands of megawatts” that they currently have in “surplus.”
With the new legislation, Facetti said, Paraguay aims to recognize crypto mining as an industry and establish the grounds to guarantee access to energy and requirements for the formalization of an expanding sector.
He further said, for crypto transactions, the National Securities Commission (NSC) will establish the registration requirements for intervening agents for negotiation, compensation, custody, and intermediation in the securities market.
The bill proposes a registry for any individual and the legal entity seeking to provide crypto trading and custody services.
According to the bill, the country’s Industry and Commerce Secretariat will supervise crypto mining along with the NSC, Anti-Money Laundering Office, and National Electricity Administration.
