In the news gathered in September this year, the South-American country had mandated all its cryptocurrency miners to join a national pool and expects that their earning will not only be split by the miners but will also be regulated by the State. In a legal agreement reached and signed by the nation’s National Superintendent of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (SUNACRIP) and the Ministry of the People’s Power for Electric Energy, it was agreed that both bodies would promote and co-ordinate crypto mining activities in the country.
The implication of this agreement is expected to affect prices of electricity which the miners hope is fair. The SUNACRIP is the country’s regulatory body for cryptocurrency affairs while the Ministry of the People’s Power for Electric Energy is tasked with regulating public power activities in the nation.
The President facilitated the new agreement
The agreement reached between both bodies would not have been possible if the President had not stepped in. In a statement by the Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, Nestor Reverol he said: “As instructed by President Nicolas Maduro, we have signed the Inter-institutional Cooperation Framework Agreement to continue with the strengthening of state policies that allow the development of digital crypto mining and the preservation of the electricity supply in Venezuela”.
He further stressed that the reached agreement would also enable them to enact fair pricing for the cryptocurrency mining sector. A move which Nestor feels will allow the rapid development of the sector and improve their service.
Future of crypto in Venezuela looks bright
The situation of the prices is yet to be ascertained as both miners and analyst expect lower prices. The situation is unclear because no one exactly knows what is in the document and what to expect as Nestor concedes that it is “fair pricing” and it also means altered prices. Some Analyst argues that fair pricing could imply “lower prices”, a move which could attract more people to the industry and smoothen business activities. In contrast, other analysts feel like fair pricing could imply “higher prices”, a measure which might be implored by the government to extract wealth into its coffers from a resourceful market.
Speaking to Journalists earlier, SUNACRIP head Joselit Ramirez has assured Venezuelans miners that the rate would be attractive and he believes it will go lower since it is targetted to at least better the situation for miners. A miner named Carlos Díaz disagrees with the Joselt because he believes that in a country where electricity is almost free, the government implying that they are enacting a fair price only means higher prices and that is what he expects.
Going by details gathered by Ciphertrace, an organization that detect and limit crypto-currency money laundering, Venezuela sits at the top in the world in the list of countries in terms of adoption of cryptocurrencies. The regulations of the cryptocurrency policies in the country could either improve that or deter it.