I've met Venezuelans who live abroad and send money back home to fund small bitcoin mining operations. It's highly profitable thanks to subsidised (i.e. free) electricity costs but also very risky with authorities regularly seizing bitcoin mining hardware. The Venezuelan military has been using seized mining equipment to mine bitcoin since at least 2020 in order to fund itself. Given the amount of corruption in the country, it's anyone's guess as to how that bitcoin has been distributed.
I've met Venezuelans who live abroad and send money back home to fund small bitcoin mining operations.
It's highly profitable thanks to subsidised (i.e. free) electricity costs but also very risky with authorities regularly seizing bitcoin mining hardware.
The Venezuelan military has been using seized mining equipment to mine bitcoin since at least 2020 in order to fund itself.
Given the amount of corruption in the country, it's anyone's guess as to how that bitcoin has been distributed.
https://news.bitcoin.com/venezuela-seizes-315-bitcoin-mining-rigs-miners-discuss-illegal-confiscation-police-extortion/