Exclusive: Chinese Group Looking to Buy One of Latin America's Largest Bitcoin Mines
Rocelo Lopes, CEO of Stratum, CoinPY, and one of the leading names in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market in Latin America, is negotiating the sale of Brazilian-owned, Paraguay-registered mining farm CoinPY, once a leading crypto company in Latin America.
According to exclusive information obtained by Cointelegraph, the negotiation is already advanced and the entire mining plant in Paraguay will be sold to a Chinese group that already operates similar farms in China.
Chinese miners concerned about tightening regulations
The group reportedly sought out Lopes for regulatory reasons, imagining a difficult scenario in China after the launch of any Chinese central bank digital currency (CBDC) that could cause a new wave of persecution in the cryptocurrency industry.
Tightening regulations cause Chinese miners to look elsewhere
The move follows other Chinese miners looking for alternative locations to set up operations, as the world's leading Bitcoin mining region is Sichuan. The rainy season there runs from April to September, and many miners move operations to Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Yunnan during the dry season to take advantage of the energy generated by thermal power companies.
Like Paraguay, countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are attracting Chinese mining companies looking to house older and less-profitable equipment like Antiminer S9, E10 and M3. In farms in China, they would stick to more cutting-edge equipment for logistical reasons.
Changes in machinery and management
In the case of the sale of CoinPY to the Chinese, all equipment at the Brazil-registered, Paraguay-based mining farm will have to be removed, according to sources speaking to Cointelegraph under anonymity. This way, Lopes would have until the end of February to remove all the machines he has in his space.
As CoinPY hosted third-party machines, customers have been notified of the destination they wish to give the equipment, mostly the Antminer S9. The negotiations also involve letting the Chinese consult with CoinPY for up to 8 years, which involves not only aspects of mining but governmental and regulatory relationships as well.
With the progress toward purchasing CoinPY, the Chinese would have already shipped their equipment to Paraguay and closed some plants in China. Cointelegraph asked the businessman for more details, but did not receive an answer.
While talking about Bitcoin mining on a television program, Lopes recently pointed out that mining has become more professional and that halving would permanently kill the possibility of any mining that not being done on a large scale.
As Cointelegraph reported recently, a Bitcoin mining farm in China was closed and all machines were shut down due to the Coronavirus outbreak.