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With volcanic geothermal energy, El Salvador has produced 474 Bitcoins valued at $29 million since 2021.
Using 300 mining machines, bitcoin was mined using electricity from the Tecapa volcano in the nation. Reuters reports that of the 102 MW the state-owned power plant produces, 1.5 MW are set aside for cryptocurrency mining in the nation.
As criticism over the dependence of Bitcoin mining on fossil fuels and power grows, El Salvador has become a leader in the mining of renewable energy.
When El Salvador became the first nation to accept Bitcoin as legal currency in addition to the US dollar in 2021, history was made. Ever since, the government has enacted a number of laws aimed at mining Bitcoin, such as building a geothermal plant.
As of right now, El Salvador has 5,750 Bitcoins, or roughly $354 million.
Ever since 2021, the Central American country has come under severe criticism for embracing Bitcoin from international institutions like the World Bank.
With many people doubting President Nayib Bukele’s activities, the bear market of 2022–2023 increased attention. Bukele did, however, up the ante by declaring that the nation would purchase one Bitcoin each day.
With strong support all around the country, Bukele easily won the 2024 El Salvador presidential election.
Greenwashing or Progress? Debate Over Bitcoin’s Energy Use
Within the cryptocurrency community, the use of fossil fuels in bitcoin mining has long been contentious.
With backing from ripple Among others who have argued for the switch of Bitcoin from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake is Greenpeace. On November 22, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul enacted a proof-of-work mining embargo that made the state the first in the union to outlaw any PoW cryptocurrency mining for a period of two years.
Following his $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase, Tesla CEO Elon Musk pledged to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for Tesla vehicles. He quickly changed his mind, though, pointing to the harm mining does to the ecosystem. Musk promised to think again about this action only when more than half of Bitcoin mining is done using renewable energy sources.
Reports abound that more than 60% of Bitcoin mining is powered by renewable energy sources after Musk made his pledge.
Musk hasn’t yet responded to these claims or added a BTC payment option. Currently, Tesla is being sued for frequently breaking the Clean Air Act by discharging dangerous pollutants into the surrounding communities from its Fremont factory.