According to Odaily Planet Daily, the Paraguayan Bitcoin mining industry responded to the involvement of the National Electricity Agency (ANDE) in the closure of several illegal Bitcoin mines. Bruno Vaccotti, public affairs director of Bitcoin mining company Penguin, revealed the existence of three "vulture contracts" that slowed down the development of Bitcoin mining operations in Paraguay.
Vaccotti acknowledged in a radio interview that illegal mining operations hurt ANDE’s revenue, but he criticized the agency’s claims about Bitcoin mining activities. He said Penguin pays $850,000 a month in electricity bills, which is almost 50% of the $2 million in losses ANDE claims were caused by illegal crypto mining.
"Vulture contracts" are agreements signed by ANDE with other undisclosed third parties for Bitcoin mining, which affect the supply of electricity to new mines and cause losses to the state. Vaccotti claims that these contracts involving large amounts of energy are usually signed by foreign investors seeking speculation. The energy allocated to these parties is prevented from being used for these operations, thus undermining the possibility of real Bitcoin mining investors to utilize the energy involved.