Many people doubted Nayib Bukele’s Volcano Bitcoin Mining plans, but here we are. The president shared a video via Twitter in which we can see an El Salvador government-branded container arriving at the geothermal power plant. The reveal is that the container is full of Bitcoin mining rigs and you can see the technicians plugging them in. Bukele’s tagline is a mysterious “First steps…” Here’s the video:
First steps…
🌋#Bitcoin🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/duhHvmEnym
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) September 28, 2021
So, in just a few months, El Salvador declared Bitcoin legal tender and built the Chivo ATMs, Cash points, and the Chivo Wallet. And now, they’re mining the hardest asset ever created with the cleanest and most renewable energy available. From zero to volcano Bitcoin mining, who would have thought?
Related Reading | Bitcoin Mining Hashrate Triples In Two Months, Difficulty To Rise 12% Soon
BTC price chart on FTX | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
The Brief History Of Volcano Bitcoin Mining In El Salvador
It was just over three months ago that Bitcoinist first reported on the volcano Bitcoin mining project. Were we expecting it to generate results so fast? Absolutely not. Here’s what we said:
“Bukele began working on setting up clean bitcoin mining operations a week after Bitcoin became legal tender, instructing the director of the state-owned geothermal utility to make room for Bitcoin mining.
He said: “Our engineers just informed me that they dug a new well, that will provide approximately 95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy from our volcanos. Starting to design a full Bitcoin mining hub around it.”
Here are the tweets we were referencing then:
Our engineers just informed me that they dug a new well, that will provide approximately 95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy from our volcanos 🌋
Starting to design a full #Bitcoin mining hub around it.
What you see coming out of the well is pure water vapor 🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/SVph4BEW1L
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) June 9, 2021
Notice that President Bukele says “very cheap, 100% clean, 100% renewable, 0 emissions energy from our volcanos.” He sent that Tweet one month after Elon Musk declared that Tesla wouldn’t accept Bitcoin anymore because of its energy usage. Musk’s message sent the price of Bitcoin tumbling down and sparked a global debate. It also inspired the creation of the controversial Bitcoin Mining Council.
While all of that was happening, Bukele was a guest on the “What Bitcoin did” podcast. There, he explained his objectives for volcano Bitcoin mining in their geothermal power plant. Of course, Bitcoinist reported on it:
“Energy is the main cost of Bitcoin mining. This clean and renewable power will be beneficial for the Bitcoin ecosystem and for El Salvador. Bukele puts it best, “It’s going to provide a lot of income to the country. And the plan is to build a plant that’s going to cost $480M. So, that’s going to be a legacy for the country. Because, we’re building infrastructure paid by Bitcoin.”
love me some 🌋 mining https://t.co/qwMdVHGdeW
— Meltem Demirors (@Melt_Dem) September 28, 2021
The Bitcoin Hashrate Is Recovering
In their height, Chinese Bitcoin miners controlled between 60 and 70% of the Bitcoin hashrate. Just over four months ago, China banned Bitcoin mining in their country. That opportunity, combined with the Elon Musk FUD, inspired a new generation of miners to look for cleaner energy alternatives to power their rigs. And thus, Bitcoin’s transition to renewables got new air.
Related Reading | More Miners Come Back Online Post 2021 Hashrate Crash
Recently, our sister site NewsBTC reported a stunning 68% recovery in the hashrate since the Chinese miners had to turn down their machines.
“Pantera Capital’s CEO Dan Morehead adds one more factor to the equation. “The bitcoin network has recovered 68% of the drop in hashrate that our difficulty model attributed to China’s ban—likely in places with cleaner energy.”
And now, El Salvador is seemingly providing a volcano Bitcoin mining alternative. Reportedly, private companies will have the opportunity to move or start an operation inside El Salvador’s geothermal power plant. At least that was the plan three months ago. This will likely help the hashrate’s recovery, and with “very cheap, 100% clean, 100% renewable, 0 emissions energy from our volcanos.”
Featured Image by Tanya Grypachevskaya on Unsplash - Charts by TradingView
