Venezuela is without a doubt a very interesting case study regarding the world of cryptos and economics in general. What should theoretically be a paradise for the mining industry with the lowest electricity rates on the planet, is actually a road full of obstacles and difficulties that make this activity practically underground.
The inflationary escalation has led to projections that estimate numbers of up to 1,000,000%. This situation that has led many Venezuelans to look to cryptocurrencies as a way to protect their income against a devaluation that the Venezuelan government has been incapable of controlling.
In an interview for the Latin website CriptoNoticias, an anonymous miner identified as “Roberto” expressed how lives a person dedicated to the mining business, and the reasons why he remains within the “scene.”
Mining: A Safe Harbor for Venezuelan
Roberto is a 54-year-old engineer. He began to dedicate himself to mining during the year 2015 mainly due to the strong inflation and the low salary of his formal work. Currently, he works with an old rig of 5 GPUs. He also performs other tasks on sites like Hive to earn extra income.
“When I became interested, the price of bitcoin was 700 dollars. Everything indicated at the time that it would continue to rise and it did. I couldn’t keep any crypto because of financial needs, having to move the funds. I remember that the dedicated avant-garde equipment was the Antminer S7, which could cost up to $2,500.
The first steps in mining were taken with Minergate and altcoins. I used about 5 mid-high range computers, and the maximum I could make was about 20 dollars a month. One of the most popular coins, which I mined, was Monero. Then I switched to video cards because they were much more profitable.
That’s how I bought an Ati Radeon HD 7950 of 3gb Ddr5, which increased the mining capacity from 50 h/s to 500 h/s … Seeing that I was doing well, I gave up my regular job because my salary was not even enough to buy a box of cigarettes.”
Upgrades: Almost Impossible for a Domestic Venezuelan Miner
He comments that this decision changed his life after the Bitcoin’s fall at the end of 2017. The bearish behavior of the market and the appearance of more and better ASICs practically represented the “death” of GPU mining.
Roberto has not been able to upgrade his RIG or buy an ASIC. Not only are prices excessively high for the average Venezuelan, but at present, the Venezuelan government retains in its power absolutely all ASICs that arrive in Venezuelan territory.
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This has led to ASICs in Venezuela having prices higher than the already ” unbuyable” original fares, since all ASICs that enter require connections with corrupt personalities within the Venezuelan government or some other method of smuggling.
Just as an example, an Antminer T9 that initially cost $280 is sold in Venezuela for $1800, and the sellers publish it as a “gift” for that price.
Electricity and Corruption… Other “Little” Problems Every Venezuelan [Miner] Have To Deal With
In addition to the country’s own corruption, which according to international figures is among the World’s top 5, Roberto must face other problems that make mining extremely difficult:
“Everything is more difficult when the power goes out, or there is no Internet connection. These failures make you lose more than 30% of your day’s work. That’s not to mention the risk of equipment damage when there are voltage variations. Replacing a mining machine is almost impossible today. The energy consumption of the rig is like having a 12,000 BTU air conditioner on all day. What I earn can reach to keep 2 people, no more…
We miners have been blamed for the electrical failures in the country. I don’t agree with that because, for example, in the old days in any house you could have up to 3 or 4 air conditioners and there was no problem with electricity. The reasons may be other, but it is not crypto-mining.”
The government has also made mining a nightmare for those determined to devote themselves to this activity legally:
“More and more people are hearing about the persecution of miners by the police authorities, about raids and confiscation of equipment. Here a Superintendency of Cryptoactives was created, a census of miners was carried out, support was offered, and certificates were issued for those of us who registered. I have mine, and even so, that’s no guarantee, they can come and take the machines. What’s the background to all this?
There is no fear anymore because we have almost nothing. What we small miners produce is not enough for us to live on. If things improve, I plan to buy an Antminer Z9 mini, but if mining becomes more complicated than it already is, then I will dedicate myself only to trading.”
The Essence of Bitcoin is What Makes it Special
However, Roberto relies on cryptocurrencies as one of the best options to improve his quality of life. His optimism lies fundamentally in the fact that the Venezuelan government cannot control them.
Read More What It's Like To Be a Venezuelan Miner. : https://ift.tt/2DFRB1H“Bitcoin is growing in Venezuela, and in many other places, because it gives people autonomy, each user becomes a bank. It has worked for me, and it will continue to work for me because all this is anti-system, no authority, no public organism can control it. When one of us falls somewhere, on the other hand, thousands rise.
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