Latam Insights: Milei Advocates for Crypto Independence, Hive Updates on Paraguayan Mining Site

Milei Advocates for Crypto Independence: ‘Don’t Let States Take Over’

While some leaders envision the inclusion of bitcoin and central bank digital currencies as part of the state’s structure, others reject this notion. Argentine President Javier Milei gave his take regarding a possible takeover of crypto by state nations, denying the possibility of this union.

As part of a keynote at “Meta Day Argentina,” an event organized by the company in Argentina, Milei bashed the public management of cryptocurrency, criticizing the establishment of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and declaring these should remain in control of private parties.

He stated:

Don’t let the states take over and let the states carry out cryptocurrencies; let them remain in the private sector.

Read more.

Hive, an artificial intelligence and bitcoin mining company, has recently revealed that it has commenced work on a previously announced site in Paraguay. It will also revamp part of its mining hardware. For this, Hive revealed an investment of nearly $20 million in Canaan-branded application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

Regarding the Paraguayan mining site, Hive revealed that construction had already begun and that all the electrical hardware was already ordered. “We anticipate 30 MW of mining capacity, equivalent to roughly 2 EH/s, to come online by early calendar Q2 2025, raising HIVE’s total hashrate to 8 EH/s by the end of calendar Q2 2025,” Kilic stressed.

This move dispels the doubts before the first announcement in July, which reported negotiations were in an advanced state but still depended on final approval from the company. Hive’s movements happened when many mining companies already operating in the country protested power hikes that affected the economic sustainability of their activities.

Read more.

World, the biometric proof-of-humanness-based project, has finally landed in Brazil and is expected to start operating in the country this week. According to local media, World will initially commence operations in ten different locations in São Paulo, allowing users to register in the network. Orbs, the devices used to scan the irises of willing users, will be available at each of these sites. Tools for Humanity Vice President of Data Protection Damien Kieran traveled to the country to address possible concerns regarding this rollout, meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Data Protection Agency (ANPD).

To follow all the latest developments in crypto and the economy in Latin America, sign up for our Latam Insights newsletter below.