Bitfarms start construction of mega Bitcoin mining farm in Argentina

[Nathrixxx]

one of the most well known mining company "Bitfarms" is set to establish a mining station in Argentina with the project target to employ about 55,000 miners by the end of 2022, this is a great opportunity placed on for the people in terms of employment and poverty elevation, Cryptocurrency is truly giving back to the community indeed with diverse opportunities.

one of the focus challenges to be encountered through this process is the energy source required (power supply) and a desirable location for the site to be stationed. this project target on Bitfarms focal view in a bid to seeking a new location to site another of it mega mining company at, Bitfarms start construction of mega Bitcoin mining farm in Argentina

in furtherance to this, are there other suitable locations that could be of greater advantage of power supply with infrastructural conditions favourable for accommodation within Argentina while contrary opinions on this development is welcome.

[1715102529]

1715102529

[1715102529]

1715102529

[fiulpro]

{Taken from google}

First of all few statistics:
1. Argentina is not even in the top countries who mine Bitcoins on a global level
2. The cost of mining bitcoins in Argentina is actually nominal as compared to a lot of countries 4.560 $ is much less than US itself. Therefore I do think they have a lot of scope.

Setting up a bit crypto farm would work amazingly well if they do use not only electric power but renewable sources of energy as well.

It's definately a great opportunity and the focus should be laid not only on rules and location, but also on the governmental policies as well.

Cryptocurrencies are not prohibited in Argentina, and are therefore legal. ... The government has not implemented specific regulations on the issuance, exchange or, in general, use of cryptocurrencies, instead choosing to observe ongoing developments regarding their impact on the Argentine market.

(taken from google)

Other than that it's going to employee so many people!! Especially during pandemic which is honestly a very huge step.

[paxmao]

I am surprised that someone wants to invest in Argentina. Do not get me wrong, I respect fully the people of Argentina and the country as such, but the track record of defaults, "corralitos", nationalisations such as the YPF one and a general sense of lawlessness makes me doubt of any possible project that takes place in the country. I would not be surprised if the governments passes a law and steals all the miners or something of the kind.

[uneng]

I fear the construction of a bitcoin mining farm in Argentina may lead common citizens to hate bitcoin, because the conditions in the country aren't naturally favourable for a crypto mining operation, instead the conditions are artificially favourable as we can see in another article, from the same site presented in OP:

Argentina, the ailing South American country, is experiencing a cryptocurrency mining resurgence due to artificially low power rates maintained by subsidies from the national government.

Cheap Power Is Creating a Bitcoin Mining Boom in Argentina

It doesn't sound good. If the bitcoin mining business is going to take advantage of subsidies it means argentinian common citizens are financing the operation (as subsidies are only possible by raising taxes people must pay) without any benefit in return for themselves.

Bitcoin mining should be profitable without relying in any personal advantages or favours guaranteed by governments.

[d5000]

I somewhat agree with paxmao, the move seems a bit risky. While Argentina has a stronger legal system than China for example, regulations are prone to sudden changes, specially in financial matters. A regulatory framework which could comprise cryptocurrencies, is in the works according to Argentina's Central Bank director Miguel Pesce, although it would concentrate on issues like fraud prevention, targeting "the exchange market" (this could mean, for example, harder KYC regulation).

There is another (short-term) "problem" with Argentina: its electricity generating sector is relatively weak, and supply is very close to demand in the peak season (heat wavers in summer, and cold waves in winter). Thus, I think the following question is crucial:

Setting up a bit crypto farm would work amazingly well if they do use not only electric power but renewable sources of energy as well.

If the crypto farm is using renewable energy sources, and local distribution does not lead to competition issues with private households and other industries, then I don't see problems. But unfortunately, there is not much information about the location and energy source of Bitfarms' mining farm. It could be speculated (like Argentine newspaper La Nación did) that it uses hydropower (which is one of Argentina's main energy sources, together with thermal power) but I searched several journalistic articles in Argentine media for informations about the exact location - without success. If I find something, I'll post it here.

@uneng is also right: the energy prices are low mainly because of government subsidies, although rates are sensibly higher for industrial usage than for residential usage. Also, a special agreement between an energy company and Bitfarms seems to exist, meaning that it may be possible that there are no subsidies involved at all.

However, Argentina "naturally" would be an excellent mining location if the renewable energy sector was more developed, due to its excellent conditions for wind (at the coastline) and solar energy (in the west of the country).

[Leviathan.007]

That's nice and good news to see miners are spreading all over the world instead of just being in China like the past year and we saw just after china starting to ban the market did hurt some a few time but after spreading the miners in other countries such as Argentina, in this case, we will see fewer stories like that and it will also help with the decentralization of bitcoin, however, I'm not sure what going be happen especially during the next summer after increasing of the electricity consumption I hope to don't see Argentina government complaining about it later.

[Marvell1]

one of the most well known mining company "Bitfarms" is set to establish a mining station in Argentina with the project target to employ about 55,000 miners by the end of 2022, this is a great opportunity placed on for the people in terms of employment and poverty elevation, Cryptocurrency is truly giving back to the community indeed with diverse opportunities.

one of the focus challenges to be encountered through this process is the energy source required (power supply) and a desirable location for the site to be stationed. this project target on Bitfarms focal view in a bid to seeking a new location to site another of it mega mining company at, Bitfarms start construction of mega Bitcoin mining farm in Argentina

in furtherance to this, are there other suitable locations that could be of greater advantage of power supply with infrastructural conditions favourable for accommodation within Argentina while contrary opinions on this development is welcome.

This is news that will greatly affect us and BTC, before China banned all of their people from using BTC and stopped mining BTC we were affected a lot by this country, but until Now there have appeared a lot of countries that want to mine BTC by building BTC mining factories, this becomes worrying. Because more and more mining countries like Argentina will cause BTC value to drop significantly because of too many miners instead of more large amount investors in BTC.

[tippytoes]

That's nice and good news to see miners are spreading all over the world instead of just being in China like the past year and we saw just after china starting to ban the market did hurt some a few time but after spreading the miners in other countries such as Argentina, in this case, we will see fewer stories like that and it will also help with the decentralization of bitcoin, however, I'm not sure what going be happen especially during the next summer after increasing of the electricity consumption I hope to don't see Argentina government complaining about it later.

What they can do to address possible bottleneck with electricity consumption is to deploy renewable energy sources like solar or wind energy. Just like what El Salvador is using, they are utilizing their volcanic energy for bitcoin mining. So Argentina can also apply the same strategy, find a renewable energy that is readily available in their country and use it. The initial investments may be expensive but later on, they can get the ROI back and it will be free afterwards.

[Hydrogen]

Argentina seems like an interesting place. Its where Hitler was rumored to have fled after World War II. I think argentina passed gay marriage with an 80% roman catholic population demographic. Banks in argentina were one of the first to use bitcoin over wire transfers for cross border payments.

I guess the success or failure of their crypto mining venture will all depend on their electricity costs. El salvador could have advantages if they're able to harness geothermal energy which can be cheaper and more affordable than hydroelectric, wind or solar. The texas crypto mining industry could have advantages in terms of Elon Musk building multi megawatt hour lithium batteries to reduce grid electricity costs. Countries like iceland have cool climates which reduce cooling costs.

I would be interested to see what type of energy plan argentina comes up with. Maybe they have something up their sleeve that is really cool. Or maybe crypto mining on an industrial level is so profitable they won't need an ace to see significant gains from this.

[bittraffic]

Surprising as it is but if they are doing that, then good for the country. It's been such a long time since we see developments going well for countries in South America, sanctions imposed on them like blockades made the people in this area very poor, it's a good thing that Argentina is finally trying to get out of it.

Maybe they could all unite in the name of Bitcoin just like El Salvador is doing. Fixing the money is fixing the country's economy.

[Poker Player]

Well, I for one wouldn't invest in Argentina either, seeing the track record it has, but this news is yet another one that is good for Bitcoin. And even more so for Argentina, which is a country that has been destroying its currency for many years. If they are betting on Bitcoin, knowing that ultimately they will not be able to control it, they must be very desperate. Although I suppose that they will have some state control through APPs and centralized exchanges.

[Sithara007]

I am surprised that someone wants to invest in Argentina. Do not get me wrong, I respect fully the people of Argentina and the country as such, but the track record of defaults, "corralitos", nationalisations such as the YPF one and a general sense of lawlessness makes me doubt of any possible project that takes place in the country. I would not be surprised if the governments passes a law and steals all the miners or something of the kind.

^^^ This.

And the same is applicable for the other Latin American nations as well. I would think a hundred times before making any investment in Latin American nations. Their policies can change as the government changes. BTW, I don't understand why no one want to set up mining farms in middle-eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. There is no corporate tax in these nations, and the electricity is epic cheap. There may be additional expenses in the form of cooling equipment, but that should be minimal when compared to the overall benefits.