El Salvador toys with renting 170 volcanoes to Bitcoin miners, aims to disrupt industry

6 months ago

El Salvador is exploring innovative ways to heighten its Bitcoin mining operations, with President Nayib Bukele proposing a unsocial approach—renting retired the country’s volcanoes to miners.

The idea, shared successful a Nov. 25 societal media station connected X (formerly Twitter), suggests that miners could pat into the geothermal vigor produced by these earthy wonders for sustainable Bitcoin mining.

The inspiration came from a societal media station highlighting El Salvador’s palmy usage of geothermal energy, which has already powered the mining of 474 BTC, valued astatine $46 million.

In effect to the post, Bukele pointed retired that the federation has 170 volcanoes, providing a immense vigor root that could pull planetary miners looking to chopped costs. He stated:

“With 170 volcanoes…a ‘rent your volcano to excavation Bitcoin’ programme mightiness really marque sense.”

Daniel Alvarez, Director General of Energy, Hydrocarbons, and Mines, responded promptly to the President’s suggestion. He confirmed that his squad would statesman preparing a caller geothermal vigor instrumentality to facilitate the initiative.

Max Keiser, a elder Bitcoin advisor to the President, praised the idea, emphasizing that it positions El Salvador arsenic a person successful Bitcoin adoption. He said:

El Salvador’s rent-a-volcano to excavation Bitcoin volition enactment it in the pb successful the planetary Bitcoin per capita (BPC) race.”

Bitcoin profit

The projected inaugural coincides with El Salvador’s Bitcoin stash, achieving important unrealized gains amid the broader crypto marketplace rally.

According to NayibTracker, the state holds implicit 6,000 BTC, with an unrealized nett exceeding $168 million. However, the Central American country’s authoritative Bitcoin Office data reflects a somewhat little full of 5,932 tokens, valued astatine astir $585.2 cardinal astatine existent prices.

El Salvador began accumulating Bitcoin successful 2021, the aforesaid twelvemonth the apical crypto was declared ineligible tender. Since then, the state has remained resolute connected its way contempt the accordant question of disapproval and warnings from fiscal organizations similar the International Monetary Fund (IMF) implicit its Bitcoin adoption.

So, it was unsurprising that President Bukele boasted astir the success of the Bitcoin plan successful a caller X post, stating, “I told you so.”

The station El Salvador toys with renting 170 volcanoes to Bitcoin miners, aims to disrupt industry appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.

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