On October 14, nineteen visitors from Fundación Virgen de Guadalupe walked through the gates of our Valenzuela data center in Paraguay.

Most of them were teenagers who had already studied how Bitcoin works. They came to see it for themselves.

A line printed on the backs of their shirts read: "Aprender es el primer paso hacia la libertad." Learning is the first step toward freedom.

Gabriel Lamas, President of HIVE Paraguay, welcomes the group to Valenzuela.

Who they are

Fundación Virgen de Guadalupe was founded in 1986 by Lic. Florentina Ramírez and has worked to protect children and adolescents in Paraguay ever since. Its programs include a residential home, arts and sports activities through Club Rubato Guadalupe, and support for young people heading to university.

Together with Escuelita Bitcoin, the Foundation added a Bitcoin and digital technology program for its teenagers. It covers six subjects:

• Bitcoin: what it is and why it holds value
• Blockchain: how the shared ledger works
• Digital wallets: creating, receiving and safeguarding funds
• Mining: how miners secure the network
• Programming: the basics of building digital tools
• Financial education: saving, budgeting and planning

Twenty teenagers have completed the training. Six of them now teach it to others through their own workshops.

The students have become the teachers.

From the classroom to the site

Mining is one module of the program. At Valenzuela, the group saw that module in person.

They started at the electrical infrastructure, where hydroelectric power from Paraguay's grid enters the site. From there they followed that power through the cooling systems to the machines that help secure the Bitcoin network, and finished in the repair area where our technicians keep the equipment running.

The tour began at the site's electrical infrastructure, where clean hydroelectric power comes in.

Our team explains how the cooling system works.

Inside a liquid-cooled mining container.

One student toured in the hard hat of Ing. Gustavo Benítez, who leads IT at Valenzuela.

Questions came fast at every stop.

Why we opened our doors

Every digital hub needs two things: power and people.

Paraguay has the power. For decades, the country sold its surplus hydroelectricity across the border. Our 300 MW across Valenzuela and Yguazú turns that clean power into compute here in Paraguay, and another 100 MW is on the way.

A hub also needs people. The engineers, technicians and developers who will run this infrastructure in the years ahead are in school today. Some of them may have walked our site last week.

We believe Paraguay can be Latin America's next digital hub. Hubs grow where young people can see the work up close and picture themselves doing it.

Community first, wherever we operate

We operate on three continents, in Canada, Sweden and Paraguay. In every one of them we work the same way: we hire locally, we partner locally and we invest locally.

In Paraguay, that has meant upgrading rural schools near our Valenzuela campus with new air conditioning, fresh paint and new chalkboards, and helping light city streets. In Sweden, it means backing hockey in Boden.

Opening our doors to students is part of the same commitment. When young people understand the infrastructure in their own community, they can see a future in it.

Gabriel Lamas with members of the Foundation's team.

Thank you

Thank you to Fundación Virgen de Guadalupe and the tutors, teachers and management team who made the visit happen. Thank you to Escuelita Bitcoin for building the program, and to our Paraguay team for leading the tour.

Learning is the first step. We look forward to seeing where this group takes it.

Valenzuela, Paraguay. October 14, 2026.