Crossing the border between Brazil and Venezuela means that Bitcoin mining goes from incentive to prohibition in a single step. In Venezuelan territory, machines are turned off to protect an electrical network under pressure. On the Brazilian side, the switches open with new facilities for the import of equipment, turning energy into a strategic asset that drives this sector.
Brazil updated its list of ex-tariffs on May 8, 2026 through Gecex Resolution 894, published in the Official Gazette of the Union. The measure modifies the Single Annex of a previous resolution and includes or renews exemptions for various industrial equipment valid until April 2028 in some cases.
From the statement it is extracted that technical descriptions correspond to liquid cooling systems and modular data centers used in Bitcoin mining. With this movement, the Amazon nation positions its energy as a tool for expansion. By leveraging a robust renewable matrix, it makes clear that its plan is to convert energy surpluses into digital wealth.
Its strategy is to make technology cheaper so that miners transform electricity into capital, consolidating the country as another nerve center of the sector in the region. This commitment has a clear horizon set in the 2028 resolution, with the open possibility of a renewal.
Meanwhile, to the north, the outlook is defensive. This is because just before the resolution issued by Brazil, the Venezuelan Ministry of Electric Energy ratified its absolute ban on digital mining, arguing that The National Electric System (SEN) cannot afford the consumption of the “farms” mWhile 35% of homes suffer daily outages, as reported by CriptoNoticias at the time.
“The absolute prohibition is maintained… Those who carry out this activity illegally will be punished with the full weight of the law,” reads the official statement of May 7.
The transformation of the energy surplus in LATAM
In this context, Venezuela makes it clear that it assumes energy as a resource of strict survival. In fact, the pressure escalates to the point of offering rewards of $1,000 in the state of Carabobo for reporting clandestine operations, leaving the first equipment seized. For the Venezuelan State, each watt allocated to a Bitcoin mining equipment is a watt that is subtracted from social stability.
This divergence of policies confronts us with an unavoidable reality in the region. The point is that in the digital age, true sovereignty is no longer only measured in geographic borders or gold reserves, but in a country’s ability to keep its lights on.
Brazil and Venezuela agree that energy is a nation’s most valuable asset. However, while one uses it as an expansion tool to connect to the financial futurethe other is forced to use it as emergency rationing to sustain the present.
In the region there is also the case of Paraguay that decides to play a different card such as the transformation of mining into infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence (AI). Taking advantage of the surplus from the Itaipu dam, the country attracts Bitcoin miners and giants such as Hive Digital Technologies, which began deploying high-performance data centers.
It means that for the Guaraní nation, the watt is the basis for building a regional computing hub. By partnering with local telecommunications companies and attracting investments under stability agreements with the United States, Paraguay seeks to demonstrate that hydroelectric energy can be the engine of an industry that goes far beyond Bitcoin mining.
This divergence of policies in LATAM not only reflects different energy realities, but also opposing visions about the future. While Brazil and Paraguay are committed to converting their energy surpluses into a competitive advantage in the digital economy, Venezuela prioritizes the immediate stability of the electrical service in the midst of a severe crisis.
In the end, on this board, the winner seems to be that it will not be the one who best develops mining in the digital age or who has the most machines, but the one who manages to energy works better for your people and for the development of his nation.