Profitability makes crypto mining more expensive in Argentina

China’s crackdown on mining has led miners to search for other countries in which to continue their operations. Promises of reduced costs led some to Argentina. However, the country’s government has now applied new rates for crypto miners in the province of Tierra del Fuego.

Argentina’s Energy Secretary of the Ministry of Economy published and announced resolution 40/2022, eliminating the energy government subsidies for crypto mining energy usage. The new rates make mining in the country up to four times more expensive than it used to be.

According to the resolution, the hourly and seasonal energy used by miners is intense and constant. Because of this, crypto mining “presents challenges to the infrastructure of the concession area to which they are connected.”

The resolution adds that because the activity is profitable and payment is available, crypto miners must pay energy prices that are “equivalent to the cost of supply.” It further mentions that it is unfair that the miners are paying the same subsidized price that is paid by residential users.

The new regulation affects miners located in the province of Tierra del Fuego, a place known for its cold climate, which makes it ideal for miners that need to regulate the temperatures of mining equipment.

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Meanwhile, a federal region in Russia called Irkutsk Oblast is struggling with a rise in Bitcoin mining energy demand. Because of newly-established mining activities, the region is finding it difficult to sustain energy stability.

While there are difficulties in terms of energy prices, miners have also been struggling because of natural occurrences. Because of a winter storm, a miner in Texas shut down 99 percent of operations due to an expected rise in energy demand during the storm. This was done to lessen the pressure on the state’s power grid.