By George Ward
The crypto mining crackdown by regulatory bodies continues to gain traction as Argentina’s tax officials discover a huge mining center in a livestock farm.
According to reports, the Argentine tax authorities are clamping down on unregistered crypto mining firms in the country. Therefore, during one of its searches, the agency raided a ‘purported’ livestock and cereal farm and uncovered $20 million worth of crypto-mining hardware.
In the press release from the government, the tax body (the AFIP) disclosed that officers found the mining devices within the premises of an “agricultural firm” dealing in livestock and cereal farming.
AFIP further explained that the raided farm is located in the city of Reconquista, north of the province of Santa Fe. Official sources also disclosed that the farm has about 35 mining rigs alongside video cards and motherboards.
Meanwhile, the authorities revealed that the hardware has yet to be connected to the internet. This implies no evidence to suggest that the farm has been mining cryptocurrencies.
Thus, the farm owners will likely escape severe penalties from the government. Moreover, sources close to the incident noted no indication that the owners smuggled the equipment into Argentina.
The Argentine tax body has been ruthless in its drive to minimize the operations of illegal crypto-mining platforms in the country. Last month, the agency displayed more than 340 smuggled mining rigs after intercepting the hardware hidden among consumer goods in shipping containers.
AFIP Intensifies Crackdown On Illegal Crypto Mining
According to the AFIP, it recently conducted another sting operation within the Santa Fe province on a private property. The government discovered that the electricity consumption in the said property has surged by close to 800%.
Accordingly, tax officers were dispatched to raid the property, where it unearthed almost 96 video cards. Per the statement from the AFIP, the hardware is worth $14 million, which the owners plan to utilize to illegally mine crypto tokens.
However, the tax body noted that the property owner is yet to declare the purpose of the hardware. As a result, the authorities revealed they would slap heavy fines on the property owner, including the appropriate taxes.
For most of 2022, the AFIP has searched nationwide for crypto miners who sidestepped the government’s order to register their operations. In February, the ministers reached a unanimous decision to develop robust crypto-related tax regulations in the country.
The debate about the energy consumption of crypto mining has been trending for some time now. Many see the crypto-energy argument as flawed, considering the belief that mining digital assets consume less electricity than industrial and factory operations.
Several countries have already banned the operations of crypto mining firms within their jurisdictions. Nevertheless, crypto proponents see it as a move with a motive from those from privileged backgrounds. The superpowers still want to have their dominance over the decentralized financial space.