Crypto gets hotter: El Salvador officially begins mining bitcoin with volcanic energy

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El Salvador officially used volcanic energy to mine Bitcoin. President Nayib Bukele announced on October 1 that the so-called “Volcanode” mined its first BTC shortly after installing mining equipment at the geothermal power plant.

Bukele’s announcement lacked details. He did not reveal how many platforms were installed at the Volcanode site, how much electricity from the plant was spent on Bitcoin mining, or how the project would move forward now that it is up and running. .

We are still testing and installing, but this is officially the first #Bitcoin mining from #volcanode 🌋 October 1, 2021

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But it showed Volcanode’s initial loot: 0.00599179 BTC. It’s worth around $ 286.50, based on Bitcoin’s current value of around $ 47,831. Prices have fluctuated since Bukele’s announcement, but not enough to make a significant difference.

Bukele first announced plans to mine Bitcoin with volcanic energy in June, shortly after El Salvador’s Congress approved its proposal to accept cryptocurrency as legal tender, which the country has formalized on September 7.

I just asked the president of @LaGeoSV (our state-owned geothermal power company) to put in place a plan to offer facilities for #Bitcoin mining with very cheap, 100% clean, 100% energy renewable, 0 energy emissions from our volcanoes This will change quickly! 🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/1316DV4YwT June 9, 2021

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The move was marred by problems with Chivo, the official crypto wallet of the government of El Salvador, as well as a significant drop in the value of Bitcoin. But the country has moved ahead anyway and Bukele said on Sunday that Chivo now has 3 million users.

Using “very cheap, 100% clean, 100% renewable, emission-free energy” to mine Bitcoin could help El Salvador adjust the public’s perception of cryptocurrency and its counterparts as an environmentally unfriendly tool. for his supporters to get rich.

It all depends on the success of the project, however, and whether Bukele’s claims about this volcanic energy prove to be correct. Even then, many would say that the energy could be better used, but at least El Salvador is trying to solve the problem.

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