CoinDesk
Paraguay's state power company ANDE will let every special cryptocurrency contract expire on Dec. 31, 2027, a deadline officials have declared nonnegotiable. The move ends the flat $44-per-megawatt-hour deals that drew miners to the country's cheap Itaipu hydropower and turned it into the world's fourth-largest bitcoin mining hub, worth about 4% of global hashrate. ANDE projects roughly $350 million in revenue from crypto miners in 2026, up from about $100 million in 2024.
Why it matters
Three claimants are fighting over the same hydropower. ANDE's engineers have proposed capping mining, AI and data centers at a combined 700 megawatts from Jan. 1, 2028, roughly 10% of installed capacity, with power auctioned at a floor of $56 per megawatt-hour. Miners already hold about 944 megawatts, so if the cap holds and Kuntur's new contract counts against it, they would be bidding for under 560 megawatts, less than three-fifths of what they run today. ANDE also reports pending requests for another 6,300 megawatts, nearly the size of Paraguay's entire Itaipu share.
The AI side has already locked its supply. On Oct. 22, ANDE signed a 15-year contract to supply up to 286 megawatts to Kuntur, a company linked to Araico's planned $12 billion Iguazú AI City. Founders Fund, co-founded by Peter Thiel, anchors Araico, and Crusoe will run the campus's computers. The power averages $48.91 per megawatt-hour with inflation-linked annual increases, about $5 above the miners' flat rate.
Market impact
HIVE Digital Technologies carries the most exposure. About 297 of its 385 operating megawatts, roughly 77%, sit at two Paraguayan sites whose contracts run to the 2027 deadline, and the company has said continued operation depends on renegotiating. Under the engineers' price floor, its roughly $140 million annual power bill would rise by about $38 million a year before it adds a single machine. With electricity the largest cost in mining, the outcome of the ANDE talks is likely to push hashrate toward other jurisdictions, and the auction design Paraguay adopts will set the price benchmark for large power users across Latin America.
Frequently asked questions
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Why is Paraguay ending its bitcoin mining power contracts?
State utility ANDE will let all special crypto contracts expire on Dec. 31, 2027, a date it calls nonnegotiable, as domestic electricity demand grows about 8% a year and AI companies compete for the same cheap Itaipu hydropower.
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How much of the global bitcoin hashrate runs on Paraguayan power?
Miners in Paraguay accounted for about 4% of global mining power in the second quarter, making it the fourth-largest mining jurisdiction, per Hashrate Index. They hold roughly 944 megawatts under contract with ANDE.
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What happens to HIVE Digital's Paraguay operations?
About 297 of HIVE's 385 operating megawatts, roughly 77%, sit at its Yguazú and Valenzuela sites, and both contracts run to Dec. 31, 2027. The company has said continued operation relies on renegotiating the agreements.
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Who is taking the miners' cheap power in Paraguay?
ANDE signed a 15-year contract on Oct. 22 to supply up to 286 megawatts to Kuntur, linked to Araico's planned $12 billion Iguazú AI City. Founders Fund anchors Araico and Crusoe will run the campus computers.
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What are ANDE's engineers proposing for future power allocation?
They propose capping mining, AI and data centers at 700 megawatts combined from Jan. 1, 2028, auctioning power with a $56/MWh floor. At a $60 clearing bid, ANDE would earn about $98 million a year more than miners currently pay.
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