Harnessing the Power of Volcanic Energy for Mining!
When it comes to countries that have risen with the emergence of cryptocurrencies in recent years, one small Central American country immediately comes to mind – El Salvador. After President Nayib Bukele took office, the country officially adopted Bitcoin as its legal tender in September 2021, causing quite a stir worldwide.
In the following three years, El Salvador has consistently been purchasing Bitcoin. But did you know that El Salvador’s Bitcoin journey is not as simple as just buying? The country has also combined its geographical advantages and natural resources by using geothermal energy to mine Bitcoin.
The Ability to Mine 474 Bitcoins in Three Years
The reason they are able to mine using natural energy sources is because El Salvador is known as the “land of volcanoes.” Seventy percent of the country’s terrain is made up of volcanic plateaus and mountains, with a staggering 25 volcanoes within its borders. Geothermal energy has always been an important source of electricity in El Salvador.
Taking advantage of this, President Bukele has set up mining facilities near the volcanic power plants since taking office in 2021. It is said that about 1% of the electricity produced by the country’s power plants is used for mining. The Tecapa Volcano power plant alone has nearly 300 mining machines.
According to statistics, El Salvador has successfully mined approximately 473.5 Bitcoins in the three years to date, worth nearly $29 million, or nearly 930 million New Taiwan Dollars.
Transparency and Openness
At the same time, the Salvadoran government is also striving for high transparency. The country’s Bitcoin office recently launched a new platform that allows citizens to view real-time changes in the country’s Bitcoin holdings and investment data through personalized memory pools.
Since November 2022, Bukele has also implemented the “Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)” strategy, with the goal of purchasing one Bitcoin every day. This strategy has already yielded a profit of over 43% for El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings. Currently, the country holds 5,750 Bitcoins, worth nearly $354 million, or approximately 11.4 billion New Taiwan Dollars.
This article is a collaboration reprint from Crypto City.
