Oil giant Petrobras explores BTC mining, tokenization

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Brazil’s state-owned petroleum giant Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NASDAQ: PBR) is exploring BTC mining and other blockchain applications, including tokenization.

The company, better known as Petrobras, is launching a new research and development (R&D) department, with blockchain as one of the key technologies it will explore, reports local outlet Block News. This includes block reward mining, although the details remain scant. Other petroleum companies that have explored mining, like America’s ExxonMobil (NASDAQ: XOM), used flare gas, which is essentially wasted energy, to power the mining rigs.

Brazil has been attracting block reward miners over the past year as they seek to tap into its cheap energy. Paraguay had emerged as a regional leader in Latin America, but when the country hiked its power prices last July, some miners relocated to neighboring Brazil.

Beyond mining, Petrobras will also explore how blockchain can aid the company’s mission to reduce its carbon footprint, which is in line with the broader global agenda. Petrobras would join hundreds of global initiatives implementing blockchain in environmental conservation. Applications include sustainable sourcing, optimizing smart grids through smart contracts, and peer-to-peer energy trading on decentralized platforms. Blockchain is also transforming the carbon credits market, introducing traceability and accountability along the entire generation and trading cycles.

Tokenovate is one of the companies that is building innovative solutions for the carbon credit market. The United Kingdom-based firm announced last October that it had launched a minimum viable product (MVP) for its derivatives market solution, built on the BSV blockchain. The year before, the company had launched the world’s first smart legal contract for carbon credit derivatives.

Back in Brazil, Petrobras ‘crypto’ initiative comes at a time when local regulators are cracking down on non-compliant digital asset projects. The country’s data protection agency recently ordered World Network to cease offering Brazilians digital assets for their biometric data. World Network is a project formerly known as Worldcoin and founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The agency said that compensating the residents compromises the user consent, noting that local laws require biometric data to be offered freely.

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