Paraguay Passes Cryptocurrency Regulation Bill, Targeting Mining Companies

<p>On Thursday, the Paraguayan Senate passed a bill regulating cryptocurrency mining and trading in the country.</p> <p>A Bill Is Being Introduced To Regulate Cryptocurrency Trading</p> <p>The Paraguayan Senate passed a bill on Thursday regulating Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading and mining in the country. Senator Fernando Silva Facetti, co-author of the bill, announced on Twitter that it will now be debated in the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay in 2022.</p> <p>The bill does not make bitcoin legal tender in Paraguay. A sneak peek at the draught bill was released in July during a conversation with Paraguayan Congressman Carlitos Rejala. The bill hinted at tighter regulatory oversight of bitcoin mining by the country's regulators, as well as an overarching goal of protecting investors from enterprises that offer bitcoin services.</p> <p>At the time, Rejala stated,</p> <p>"With this, we want to formally welcome to the world the innovation of cryptocurrencies in Paraguay. This is the result of a long and arduous collaboration between a large number of experts in the field, both domestic and international."</p> <p>According to the bill, the Industry and Commerce Secretariat will be in charge of crypto mining in the country, with the Anti-Money Laundering Office and the National Securities Commission assisting. Meanwhile, the National Electricity Administration will be responsible for regulating the activity.</p> <p>Meanwhile, despite the bill's omission of the term "exchange," it clearly implies some form of record-keeping for any individual or established business entity interested in providing cryptocurrency trading or custody services to others.</p> <p>Paraguay Pursues Cryptocurrency Miners</p> <p>The bill also recognises that Paraguay consumes less than one-third of the energy it produces. If cryptocurrency mining activities are properly regulated, they will almost certainly compensate for the thousands of megawatts of electricity that Paraguay currently does not use.</p> <p>In summary, the law aims t