El Salvador Mines First Bitcoin Using Energy Harnessed From Volcano
Crypto-friendly country El Salvador has mined its first ever portion of a bitcoin using energy harnessed from one of the country’s volcanos.
After officially granting bitcoin legal tender status alongside the US dollar, El Salvador successfully managed to mine a small fraction of the cryptocurrency using geothermal power from a volcano. The country’s president Nayib Bukele tweeted on Saturday that the state-controlled energy company LaGeo SA de CV ran a mining operation that generated 0.00599179 of a bitcoin, which amounts to approximately US$269.
Earlier in the week, Bukele shared footage on Twitter of numerous shipping containers delivering cryptocurrency miners to a remote location for installation by the state-run energy company’s technicians. El Salvador is home to approximately 20 active volcanos, and derives about 25% of its energy from geothermal sources.
Back in June, the congress of El Salvador granted bitcoin legal tender status in an effort to make it easier for El Salvadorians working abroad to send remittences to their families back home. In the beginning of September, El Salvador officially became the first country to recognize bitcoin as a currency, as the president installed 200 bitcoin ATMs across the South American region, and purchased 400 bitcoin to start the process.
Information for this briefing was found via twitter. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
