El Salvador and Bitcoin SOPA Images / Gallery Images
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, announced Tuesday the "first steps” to a Bitcoin volcano project.
Bukele stated that his government would investigate the possibility of using volcanic energy to power bitcoin mining.
Bitcoin mining requires a lot of energy and takes up more power per year than the Philippines.
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Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, announced Tuesday on Twitter that the Central American nation has made the first steps toward getting its Bitcoin volcano project started.
Bukele stated briefly that the project was underway and released a video showing the scene in which an energy plant is surrounded by forest near a volcano.
The clip shows the installation of bitcoin mining rigs. This suggests that he is still committed to exploring volcano energy as a source for renewable power.
In June, the president stated that he would request LaGeo SA de CV (the country's state-owned geothermal electricity company) to provide facilities for #Bitcoin miners with "very cheap, 100% clean and 100% renewable energy from our volcanoes."
In a tweet, Bukele stated that "First steps"
Nayib Bukele volcano video Nayib Bukele Twitter
Bitcoin mining is the process of extracting new coins from blocks of data within the network. This happens as powerful computers solve complicated algorithms. According to Cambridge's bitcoin electricity consumption index, it is extremely energy-intensive and uses more power per year than the Philippines.
El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender in September. The rollout was initiated on September 7, just one day after El Salvador purchased 400 bitcoin.
