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Paraguay burns with potential but cools in negligence. Sitting on one of the largest hydroelectric reservoirs on the planet, blessed with sun, wind, biomass, and rivers everywhere, we still think about energy as if it were 1970. We keep asking ourselves the same questions on a loop: what do we do with our energy power, who do we sell it to, for how much, and for what purpose? These are uncomfortable questions, but unavoidable ones. We are living in the era of global electrification: energy is no longer just a development input—it is the foundation of sovereignty. Whoever controls energy controls the future. Yet while the world debates artificial intelligence, batteries, electric vehicles, and data mining, we are still stuck in the endless saga of whether Itaipú gives us what we deserve. That conversation needs to level up. Fast.

Paraguay produces over 60 TWh of electricity per year thanks to Itaipú and Yacyretá, but we consume barely 15–20% of it. The rest is exported cheaply to Brazil and Argentina under treaties that chained us for decades, and in many cases, we don’t even get paid properly. On top of that, around 30% of the electricity we generate is lost to inefficiency, theft, or poor infrastructure. That’s a luxury we can’t afford, especially when we could generate an additional 20 GW if we tapped all our clean energy sources. We have the resource, but not the mindset to exploit it. We keep repeating the same extractive model: selling raw electricity as if it were soybeans or unprocessed ore. And like every country that gives away its raw materials, we give away the chance to multiply wealth. Energy is our oil of the 21st century, but it must be used to ignite industries, not subsidize inertia.

And here comes an actor that many still fail to grasp in full: Bitcoin. Not as a digital trend or speculative asset, but as an energy protocol. Its mining—proof-of-work—turns electricity into real economic value. And it does so with a unique behavior: miners go where energy is abundant and cheap. They don’t compete with households or hospitals; they fill demand gaps. This type of consumption could be vital for the Chaco, where building infrastructure costs millions and there’s no industry yet to justify it, or for absorbing surpluses during low domestic demand. Instead of letting electricity vanish, it can be routed to mining centers that convert it into satoshis. It’s a mechanism to turn waste into cash flow, to give immediate use to idle power, and to finance infrastructure. Global companies are already doing it here. The question is whether the State will keep watching from the stands or pick up the baton: regulate smartly, attract investment, set up community-owned mining centers, and why not, sovereign mining pools that generate revenue for the country.

But this is not just about using what we already have better. Itaipú is a jewel, but relying on it alone is a strategic risk. Climate change, hydrological cycles, and regional political instability force us to diversify. We have over 300 days of sunshine per year to deploy solar farms in rural areas, on public building rooftops, and in industrial facilities. We have southern regions and highlands in the Chaco with wind potential enough to add to the grid. We have abundant biomass from agriculture and forestry to generate energy from waste, creating jobs, reducing pollution, and decentralizing access. We have rivers and streams that could host small hydro plants and microturbines without major environmental impact. And each of these sources could be paired with storage systems—batteries, thermal salts—and with Bitcoin mining nodes to stabilize and monetize the system.

The equation is simple: energy sovereignty is economic sovereignty. Energy is power. Whoever transforms it into wealth leads. Paraguay has the historic chance to stop being cheap and start being valuable. But that demands vision. Vision to break free from treaties that disadvantage us. Vision to invest in smart grids and modern transmission. Vision to train technicians, engineers, and entrepreneurs who can think of energy as a system, not a commodity. And vision to understand that Bitcoin is not an enemy of the electrical system, but a strategic ally to monetize waste, stabilize networks, attract investment, and build digital sovereignty.

The mistake would be to fall into extremes: a State that wants to do everything, or one that washes its hands. What we need is a State as conductor: setting clear objectives, charting a course, enabling investment, guaranteeing equitable access, and ensuring the benefits of energy reach the entire population. That means creating a National Energy Sovereignty Agency with a multi-sector and forward-looking vision; designing an energy policy for the 21st century; enabling small producers, cooperatives, and energy communities to generate and sell electricity; and establishing a clear framework for Bitcoin mining as an industrial use of energy.

Energy is the spark of development. But if we don’t know what to ignite with it, it fizzles out. Paraguay can become an intelligent, sovereign, decentralized energy power. Bitcoin is no magic cure, but it is part of the solution: a tool that, when used well, monetizes what is now wasted, attracts investment, decentralizes opportunities, and strengthens the digital economy on our own resources. We have the energy. We have the resources. What we lack is political will, a compelling narrative, and the audacity to plug into the future. Because the future won’t wait for us—it will race past at high voltage. And if we don’t connect in time, the opportunity will vanish down the same line we’ve been using to give away our power.


From Wasted Watts to Digital Wealth: Paraguay’s Energy Moment

This memorable quote from Augusto Roa Bastos, the first and only winner of the Cervantes Prize from our country, captures the essence of our reality: a country without significant deposits of gold, silver, or oil, without direct access to the sea, and timidly located between two giants, Argentina and Brazil. Paraguay, with its mere seven million inhabitants, has endured almost everything a peripheral nation can suffer: wars that have decimated it, multilateral treaties with no real benefits, poor infrastructure, low industrialization, and an economy focused on primary production.
Experts say that Paraguay feeds ten times its population. They call it the “breadbasket of the world,” even though hunger and malnutrition still affect 40% of its inhabitants. It is a country that produces without consuming, that gives without receiving. From the Austrian School's perspective, this reveals a deeply distorted economic order, where intervention and centralized control have prevented the emergence of a truly free market capable of genuinely responding to human needs.
And yet, Paraguay has powerful resources: a pleasant climate, no natural disasters, and a clean and abundant energy matrix. The hydroelectric plants of Acaray, Itaipú, and Yacyretá far exceed national consumption, generating surpluses that are sold to neighboring countries. But that energy does not translate into internal development. Why? Because we remain prisoners of a system in which decisions are made far from the citizen, within structures that deny individual and collective protagonism.
Here lies a possibility: bitcoin mining. Despite the rate increases imposed in 2022 and 2024, Paraguay still offers exceptional conditions for this industry, which rewards efficiency, freedom of choice, and the intelligent use of resources. And although profit margins are among the lowest in history, that is precisely an opportunity: when many are pulling out, those who understand the long-term value are preparing to build.
Traditional financial education, when it exists, tends to be superficial and prescriptive. It teaches us to obey rules, not to understand or question them. That's why, when I discovered bitcoin, my mind was blown: for the first time, I saw a tool that brought together technological and financial education, not as separate subjects, but as a single emancipatory language. Bitcoin is education for freedom.
“Human beings are programmed to learn,” said Paulo Freire. But he also warned that all learning carries an ideological burden. What happens when education is designed to tame, not to liberate? What happens when we only have access to a part of history, carefully selected by those in power?
That's where bitcoin comes in as an antidote. “Study bitcoin” is much more than a slogan: it is an act of epistemic disobedience. It is inviting others to light their own lantern and walk a path that no one else can walk for them. As Walter Bender said: “Program to avoid being programmed.” The libertarian philosophy of the Austrian School intersects here with Freire's critical pedagogy: both reject the authoritarianism of imposed knowledge and advocate for the individual's role in constructing meaning.
We will talk about technology, yes. But we will also talk about power, sovereignty, justice, and inequality. Because what is at stake is not just learning how to use a wallet: it is understanding the invisible mechanisms that programmed us to be obedient within the traditional financial system, and how bitcoin finally offers a way out.
A farmer without access to a bank can have a wallet. A community can trade without depending on external structures. This is not a utopia: it is already happening in El Zonte, El Salvador, where bitcoin circulates among farmers as a legitimate means of exchange. We are not talking about theory, but about liberating practices.


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