A prohibition of cryptocurrency mining activity throughout the national territory and the professional services associated with them it will not prevent it from being carried out clandestinely and implies a loss of national revenue, in the opinion of the Bitcoin Angola community manager, Euclides Manuel.
Speaking in an interview with Lusa, the specialist from the Bitcoin Angola community, which has 29 thousand members and has been active for around seven years, suggests rather regulating the activity, highlighting that “the country will lose a lot with this new law”, said Euclides Manuel.
"We have maintained contacts with some entities to expand the use of 'crypto', we have made some contributions, what we were waiting for was for the law to be subject to public consultation”, said Euclides Manuel, highlighting that, instead of prohibiting, other countries have moved towards regulation, as they identify advantages linked to the activity.
Furthermore, he highlighted, it will be very difficult to prevent the mining and use of cryptocurrencies, as they are “decentralized activities”
It agreed, however, that mining, which requires large amounts of energy to produce 'bitcoins', should be regulated.
According to Euclides Manuel, it is foreign citizens (Brazilians, Chinese, Vietnamese and Israelis) who dedicate themselves to this activity in Angola, because energy is cheap.
Many miners are only discovered because they overload the network or because the noise from the machines bothers the population.
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“The Government could create a law, with specific contracts, for both natural and legal persons, that allows the fair price to be charged”, he suggested.
The bitcoin manager highlighted that, in addition to the additional revenue, by licensing the activity, the Angolan State would also benefit from charging customs fees, as the mining machines are imported from China.
Another advantage would be the promotion of technological innovation and the use of excess energy produced for mining, allowing the diversification of the economy.
He gave Namibia as an example, where the activity was legalized, highlighting that much of the mining that takes place in that country uses energy produced in Angola.
Another example is Nigeria, where the local population has used cryptocurrencies as a refuge to escape inflation, as have Angolan users – mainly men, employees, between 18 and 35 years old – who also use digital currency to send remittances to the abroad, with less cost and greater speed.
