El Salvador Government to Mine Bitcoin with Volcanic Energy

Volcano!
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Volcanoes are great for inspiring science fair projects, instilling dread in people who live next to them, and incinerating unlucky participants in ancient rituals. We might be able to add another item to that list soon because El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said yesterday that he’s planning to use volcanic energy to mine Bitcoin. This latest effort builds on the country's fascination with Bitcoin: Earlier this week, El Salvador became the first country in the world to consider the cryptocurrency legal tender.

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Bukele said in a follow-up tweet that LaGeo’s engineers dug a new well on Wednesday capable of providing “approximately 95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy” from El Salvador’s volcanoes. He also re-affirmed that the plan was for LaGeo to design a full Bitcoin mining hub around this new well.

The announcement follows increasing concerns about the global impact of Bitcoin mining operations. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with mining cryptocurrency from an environmental perspective, but it is an energy-intensive process, and that can be a problem if the energy is derived from non-sustainable sources.

If the energy derived from this volcanic well truly is emissions-free, the planned Bitcoin mining operation could avoid some of those criticisms. Even if it’s not, well, it’s still hard to deny that using a volcano to mine cryptocurrency makes recent efforts to set up Bitcoin mining rigs in abandoned power plants seem quaint.

Bukele appears to be going all-in on Bitcoin. Earlier this week, El Salvador became the first country in the world to consider the cryptocurrency legal tender because his proposal was approved by 62 of the country’s 84 members of Congress. He also said El Salvador would offer citizenship to anyone who owns more than 3 bitcoin.

Those changes won’t be without controversy. Bukele is supposed to meet with the International Monetary Fund today, for example, to address concerns about how the adoption of Bitcoin as an official currency will affect El Salvador’s relationship with the financial institution. Businesses will also have to figure out how to process transactions involving the cryptocurrency; refusing to accept it would be illegal.

Bukele also hasn’t provided specific information about when the Bitcoin mining operation will be more than just a proposal in a tweet or how the coins generated by the operation would be managed. It’s entirely possible the plan will be scrapped in favor of using the volcanic energy provided by the well more traditionally. But at least for now, crypto enthusiasts can revel in the idea of lava-powered mining.

Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

  • spongiemaster
    Dr Evil would be proud. Will their be sharks with lasers on their heads protecting the mining farms?
    Reply
  • jkflipflop98
    Emissions free. . . for now
    Reply
  • salgado18
    The incredible capability to generate clean and renewable energy from a volcano... used to create digital tokens that fluctuate in perceived value based on some rich guy's tweets.

    What bothers me is that they could close fossil- and coal-based powerplants, and potentially sell the excess energy (if any) to earn more money to develop the country, but instead the guy just wants to sail a boat that's not even legal yet.

    Never vote on populists, please.
    Reply
  • Kamen Rider Blade
    El Salvador decision to use this "Green Power" for BitCoin / CryptoCurrency instead of helping it's people lower "Electrical Costs" should be a HUGE Red Flag to anybody in El Salvador.
    Reply
  • Geef
    Lets see...

    Bukele said in a follow-up tweet that LaGeo’s engineers dug a new well on Wednesday capable of providing “approximately 95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy” from El Salvador’s volcanoes.

    In their lava and gasses volcanos emit: H2O, CO2, SO2, HCl, H2S, CO among other things. Digging a hole to let those escape into the atmosphere is N-O-T 100% clean with 0 emissions like they say.
    Reply