The crypto mining industry often comes under the scanner for its intensive energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In a recent development, the South American country of Venezuela has announced a ban on crypto mining. The massive amount of electricity used to mine several cryptocurrencies worried the Venezuelan government, which eventually resorted to restricting all crypto mining operations. AlbertoNews, a Venezuelan publication first reported this development over the weekend.
The government of Venezuela has reportedly joined forces with the national electricity system to identify and disconnect crypto mining farms from the power grid in the next few days. The Venezuelan Ministry of Electricity (MPPPE) has already launched a plan to control the electricity supply to destroy crypto mining clusters.
The enforcement of the crypto mining ban comes after authorities in the South American country last week seized 2,000 crypto mining companies in Maracay, Aragua state. The Ministry of Electricity there posted a video of these seized machines on Instagram, informing its 26,500 followers of the ban on crypto mining due to huge energy needs.
The process of mining cryptocurrencies requires advanced complex mathematical equations that are solved on energy-intensive computers that must always be connected to electricity. According to a recently published Just Energy blog, the energy consumption of all crypto assets combined is between 120 and 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year, which is more than the combined electricity consumption of all the world’s data centers.
As for Venezuela, it has been experiencing power shortages for years, causing inconvenience to its population of reportedly around 29.12 million.
In some parts of the country, there have been major power outages since 2009, and the situation has worsened in 2019, writes AlbertoNews. The report also states that the lack of maintenance and upgrading of the electricity system in Venezuela is the reason for these blackouts. The situation is not even close to a solution in that South American country, which already experienced 219 protests against frequent power outages from January to March this year.
Reacting to the development, Rafael Lacava, the governor of the Venezuelan state of Carabobo issued a public appeal asking people to report crypto mining activities around their locations.
“If you, a neighbor, see a house that you know, tell that person to turn off the farm or report it, because when they turn off the light, because you have to give a person light to earn Reales (money), you are left without electric service,” said Lacava, and reports AkbertoNews.
In the past, Iran, Kosovo, and China along with multiple nations have imposed bans on crypto mining.
