Manning: No to crypto mining | Local Business

IN the senate

The Government is not supporting crypto mining in Trinidad and Tobago at this time.

So said Minister in the Ministry of Finance Brian Manning in the Senate on Tuesday in response to a question from Independent Senator Amrita Deonarine. She asked about the statement by Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon, on April 27 that the Ministry was reviewing the legislative and policy framework to understand the possibilities for a cryptocurrency sector.

“Considering all that is known about cryptocurrencies and the excessive and wasteful use of taxpayer subsidised electricity involved in Bitcoin mining, the Government is not supporting Bitcoin mining in Trinidad and Tobago at this time,” said Manning.

Manning said cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin being the most popular, were completely bereft of intrinsic value and were highly speculative in nature.

In fact, he said, Bitcoin had raised financial concerns for governments worldwide and despite its use in some countries for buying goods and services, there were no uniform international laws that regulate it.

“Crypto is not supported or backed by central banks, nor are crypto deposits insured. The speculative nature of the digital currency also leads to extraordinary price volatility and extreme uncertainty in terms of its asset value and price stability,” he said.

“Furthermore, cryptocurrency exchanges are prone to cyberattacks while the cryptocurrencies themselves show evidence of price manipulation. Crypto has been used to facilitate a host of illegal activities including money laundering, extortion, illicit drug trading, terrorist financing and human trafficking,” Manning noted.

He pointed out that cryptocurrencies had been banned or restricted either wholly or partially in over 100 countries including China, India, Guyana, Columbia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Egypt and Qatar.

Gopee-Scoon’s comments about reviewing the framework for Government policy on the mining of cyptocurrencies was made following reports that ANSA McAL, Netherlands-based Bitfury, and Europe’s largest digital asset firm Coinshares International were proposing a crypto-mining farm at the Tamana InTech Park.

The crypto-mining farm project, called Trinimine, is a proposed data centre with a maximum capacity of 300 megawatts and a total investment of an estimated US$500 million.

The value of Bitcoin has fallen by 33.6 per cent in the last ten days, declining from US$31,350.30 on June 6 to US$20,813.90 yesterday.

No shortage of

sanitation products in T&T

Government leader Amery Browne has denied UNC Senator Wade Mark’s claim that a “severe shortage” of sanitation products in the United States is affecting supply in Trinidad and Tobago.

Responding to an urgent question from Mark, Browne, deputising for Gopee-Scoon who is overseas, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry had not been informed by any stakeholder of any shortage in sanitation products in Trinidad and Tobago.

“Not for the first time the wording and contents of this urgent question, as posed by Senator Mark, would be found to be inaccurate, alarmist and misleading to the public of Trinidad and Tobago,” Browne said.

He said as a result of the foresight of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in ensuring the stability of the domestic supply of essential goods, increased supplies of foreign exchange were made available to the EximBank to address the financing requirements by manufacturers and importers.

Noting that an accumulated disbursement of US $650 million was made available under two facilities, Browne said for the period April 2020 to February 2022 essential items supplied to Trinidad and Tobago under the Forex Allocation System for essentials totalled US $355 million and included sectors such as cleaning supplies, food, hygiene products, PPE and pharmaceuticals.

He said the Ministry of Trade and Industry would continue to monitor developments and collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that there are no shortages of essential products in Trinidad and Tobago.