Brazil cuts Bitcoin miner import duty to zero and companies may plug them into stranded solar next

Brazil's foreign trade council implemented a zero percent import duty on high-efficiency SHA256 Bitcoin miners (over 200 TH/s and below 20 J/TH) valid until January 2028. This policy coincides with French state-owned energy giant Engie considering installing miners at its large solar plant in northeast Brazil to monetize curtailed electricity, which currently results in significant lost revenue for renewable generators due to transmission constraints. Bitcoin mining is viewed as a precise solution for absorbing this stranded renewable energy, as miners require dispatchable demand that can quickly ramp up or down. The tax cut reduces a major cost barrier for top-tier ASICs, making the break-even electricity price for mining around R$370/MWh, which aligns with wholesale spot prices where curtailed energy is often sold. While other taxes remain, this move creates a time-bound window for miners to establish operations by converting otherwise wasted electrons into computation, provided transmission upgrades don't eliminate the curtailment problem before the duty expires.

(Source：CryptoSlate)