Crypto Firms Retrench from Latin America as Focus Shifts to Regulatory Certainty

Bitcoin miner Bitfarms has exited a large-scale infrastructure project in Paraguay and redirected capital toward North America, while US exchange Coinbase has informed customers in Argentina that it will pause local services as it reviews its market strategy. 

The moves point to a growing preference for jurisdictions with clearer regulatory frameworks and deeper institutional capital markets.

Miners redeploy to North America

Bitfarms said in a statement that it has completed the sale of its 200 MW Yguazu data centre in Paraguay to Singapore’s HIVE Digital Technologies in a transaction valued at approximately $85mn. 

Following the transaction, Bitfarms expects its year-end 2025 pro forma energy portfolio to be around 80% North American and 20% international. Management said the company is repositioning itself from a geographically diversified bitcoin miner into a North America-focused energy and compute infrastructure operator.

The company said proceeds from the sale are expected to significantly reduce 2025 capital expenditure requirements and lower average power costs by about 10%. Bitfarms plans to reinvest capital into its US growth pipeline, which includes approximately 1.1 GW of planned capacity across bitcoin mining, high-performance computing and AI infrastructure.

While Paraguay has been a key destination for hydro-powered mining, the divestment reflects a shift in capital allocation priorities. For publicly listed miners, proximity to US power markets, financing channels, and regulatory oversight is increasingly viewed as critical as institutional investors scrutinise jurisdictional exposure and long-term asset risk.

Coinbase pauses Argentina operations

Coinbase has also taken a step back in the region. In an email sent to users in Argentina and reposted on X, the exchange said it will pause local operations while it reassesses its approach in the market. 

The company described the move as a deliberate pause and said it intends to re-enter with an improved and more sustainable product offering.

The decision comes less than a year after Coinbase formally entered Argentina in January 2025, following registration as a virtual asset service provider with the country’s securities regulator. 

Argentina remains one of the largest crypto adoption markets globally, driven by currency instability and capital controls, but it also presents operational and regulatory challenges for global exchanges.

Coinbase said Argentina remains strategically important and that Latin America continues to be a core region for the company. However, the pause suggests that near-term growth is being weighed against the cost and complexity of maintaining compliant local operations as global standards tighten.

Together, the Bitfarms and Coinbase decisions reflect a wider recalibration across the crypto sector. 

As companies plan for 2026, capital and operational focus is increasingly shifting toward jurisdictions perceived as offering regulatory clarity, predictable enforcement, and institutional scale, even at the expense of retreating from high-growth but higher-risk markets.