Colombian President Gustavo Petro has confused that the way forward for Bitcoin mining should be environmentally pleasant, with nations wealthy in inexperienced vitality akin to Paraguay and Venezuela attracting funding within the Bitcoin mining sector. He additionally warned concerning the affect of utilizing fossil fuels to energy this exercise.
Necessary factors:
- Colombia’s Gustavo Petro has warned that fossil fuel-powered Bitcoin mining dangers world local weather collapse.
- Paraguay has the world’s fourth-highest hashrate, whereas Venezuela has halted mining on account of a nine-year peak vitality disaster.
- Petro desires three Caribbean cities to mine Bitcoin, however the 2026 Hashrate Index report excludes Colombia.
President Petro highlights vitality extraction potential in Venezuela and Paraguay
Cryptocurrency mining as a world exercise has attracted the eye of world leaders, who’re giving their opinions on what the long run holds for these actions.
Controversial Colombian chief Gustavo Petro reiterated on social media the necessity for inexperienced sources to energy these energy-intensive actions.
Peter warned that “If cryptocurrencies depend upon fossil fuels, there might be world warming and local weather collapse.”
He additionally emphasised that nations with untapped clear vitality sources, akin to Venezuela and Paraguay, are attracting funding in Bitcoin mining. Paraguay has the fourth-largest hashrate on the earth, behind powers akin to the USA, Russia and China, whereas Venezuela is just not even within the prime ten.
Paraguay leverages the wealthy hydropower sources of the Iguazu Dam, one of many largest on the earth, and affords extremely aggressive vitality costs starting from $0.037 to $0.050/kWh.
Venezuela just lately banned Bitcoin mining as the federal government faces an vitality disaster and demand soars to a nine-year peak. Nonetheless, the report exhibits that mining operations close to vitality sources can faucet into electrical energy that can not be transported on account of lack of infrastructure.
“Bitcoin mining is a technique that permits people to build up Bitcoin via digital transactions utilizing highly effective computer systems. This additionally applies to Santa Marta, Riohacha and Barranquilla… This represents a serious increase to the event of the Caribbean area.” Peter concluded.
Hashrate Index’s “State of Bitcoin Mining in Latin America (2026)” report focuses on mining developments in Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, and El Salvador, however doesn’t point out Colombia. Which means that this nation is a frontier for Bitcoin mining, and the circumstances for the business to develop usually are not but in place.
