Crypto cowboys have found paradise in Paraguay

In recent years, Paraguay has become a mecca for bitcoin miners. So-called “cryptocurrency farms” are springing up inside disused factories, half-finished tower blocks, and containers on cattle ranches. Paraguay’s taxes are ultra-low, its politics are predictable, and the necessary gadgets can be imported inexpensively, explains Fernando Arriola of the Paraguayan Fintech Chamber, a lobby group. In addition, the legal system is rackety and, above all, the country has cheap electricity to burn. Though poor, small in population and short of manufacturing, Paraguay owns half the output of Itaipú, a colossal hydroelectric dam it shares with Brazil. Miners are allowed to use this spare power to generate digital assets like bitcoin, provided they pay a set tariff to ANDE, the state energy firm. Some 50 companies do so.