El Salvador is mining bitcoin using energy from volcanos

At current rates, such bitcoin “mining” devours about the same amount of energy annually as the Netherlands did in 2019, the latest available data from the University of Cambridge and the International Energy Agency shows. [Image: Reuters]

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has announced that the central American country has achieved volcano-powered bitcoin mining.

“We’re still testing and installing, but this is officially the first Bitcoin mining from the volcanode," tweeted Bukele. He further gave a breakdown of the mining rewards achieved so far.

According to the breakdown, the country has mined 0.0059 BTC worth $260.

This came after Bukele shared a video on the microblogging platform which showed mining rigs like ASIC miners deliver and set up at a facility in El Salvador.

El Salvador in September became the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender despite widespread domestic skepticism and international warnings of risks for consumers.

Bitcoin mining has come under fire for the massive carbon footprint as most of the electricity used is derived from fossil fuels. Several leaders and studies have raised concerns over the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining that involves creating new coins through several computers that use up electricity for the analysis and computation of complex mathematical equations.

At current rates, such bitcoin “mining” devours about the same amount of energy annually as the Netherlands did in 2019, the latest available data from the University of Cambridge and the International Energy Agency shows.

China moved to ban all cryptocurrency related transactions and mining activities over economic and energy concerns hurting global environmental goals.

However, geothermal energy is a push in the direction of "green bitcoin mining". El Salvador relies heavily on geothermal energy representing nearly 25 percent of the country’s total electricity production.

Tesla chief Elon Musk had also reversed course on the use of bitcoin to purchase its vehicles. Musk said Tesla would not sell any bitcoin and intends to use bitcoin for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.