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Crypto exchange Bybit has announced it is hiring a volcanologist to study how volcanic energy can be used to mine Bitcoin.
Bybit made the announcement shortly after El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, on Wednesday said he wanted to explore using renewable energy from the country’s volcanoes to mine Bitcoin.
El Salvador’s President sent shockwaves through the crypto world when he declared last weekend that he wanted to make Bitcoin legal tender in the small Central American country. Now the President is supposedly exploring all options to mine Bitcoin.
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 🌋
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) June 9, 2021
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
Bybit, one of the biggest crypto derivatives exchanges, said it would hire a geologist to “research the processes of volcanic eruptions” and “study how volcanic energy can be harnessed for Bitcoin mining.”
We are seeking a Volcanologist and R&D in Igneous Processes to join our team 🌋🌋🌋 #BTC https://t.co/v7T6AvUQdD pic.twitter.com/KchNUy2cBf
— Bybit (@Bybit_Official) June 10, 2021
The firm’s job application was posted on Twitter Thursday and retweeted President Bukele’s volcano announcement. It isn’t clear whether Bybit will be working closely with El Salvador on the research.
President Bukele has said that the country’s “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.”
The President added that geothermal electric firm LaGeo will be developing the Bitcoin mining strategy.
El Salvador’s President said last Saturday in a pre-recorded video at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami that he would send a bill to the country's congress to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender.
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly passed a bill just days later.
The idea has been criticized by banks, economics and even the IMF—but the crypto world has largely praised the move.
El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America, is one of the most equal countries in Latin America.
Many Salvadorenos flee the country north to the US in search of better economic opportunities and to escape the high levels of gang violence in the country.
Those living in the US often send remittance payments back home. Last year, El Salvador received $6 billion in remittances from Salvadorans living abroad last year—about 16% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Part of Bukele’s plan is to get migrants in the US using Bitcoin as a method of sending remittance payments, which he says will cut costs.