In Brief:
- El Salvador mined the first bitcoin using volcanic energy.
- El Salvador’s new Bitcoin mining initiative is the first crypto project to use volcanic resources.
El Salvador has officially begun mining bitcoin using volcanic energy, according to President Nayib Bukele. So far, the country has mined 0.0059 BTC, worth $ 260.
“We’re still testing and installing, but this is officially the first Bitcoin mining from the volcano,” tweeted Bukele, providing a breakdown of the mining rewards so far.
A few days back, In a short video, Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, featured BTC mining rigs operating at a thermal power plant. In this case, energy is harnessed from one of the country’s active volcanoes. Though, the President did not give an estimate of the number of machines currently online and the amount of electricity being used for bitcoin mining efforts.Â
Throughout history, volcanic power has been harnessed for the generation of energy. In June, El Salvador announced that they will start using volcanoes as a source of energy for Bitcoin mining. El Salvador’s new Bitcoin mining initiative is the first crypto project to use natural resources.Â
Mining facilities were set up in El Salvador to support the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, which began in early September. The new bitcoin mining facilities are being developed all across the country.
State owned geothermal electric firms have been directed by the president to develop a strategy that uses the country’s natural resources to produce power Bitcoin mining facilities.
Even though El Salvador’s president is receiving mostly positive responses across the globe, he is currently facing backlash at home. The government of El Salvador is reportedly planning to pay employees in Bitcoin instead of fiat USD.Â
There is growing concern that BTC mining facilities will negatively affect El Salvador’s citizens’ pay because many prefer to receive their money in USD rather than Bitcoin.
