First Volcano Bitcoin Mined, Says El Salvador’s President

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Sead Fadilpašić

Journalist

Sead Fadilpašić

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Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served...

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October 23, 2023 09:33 EDT

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El Salvador’s president seems hell-bent on making Bitcoin (BTC) firsts – this time announcing the first BTC mined with volcanoes (for newcomers, yes, you read that right – volcanoes).

“We’re still testing and installing, but this is officially the first Bitcoin mining from the volcanode,” tweeted Nayib Bukele today.

We’re still testing and installing, but this is officially the first #Bitcoin mining from the #volcanode 🌋

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) October 1, 2021

The idea of using the nation’s active volcanoes to mine BTC is not new. After he declared the cryptocurrency legal tender in June with the country passing the Bitcoin Bill, Bukele followed it up with plans for El Salvador to use geothermal energy from volcanoes to mine BTC, saying that a state-owned company could provide mining facilities with affordable and green energy.

Then just a couple of days ago, Bukele shared a short video that showed mining rigs going online at a geothermal power plant that harnesses volcano energy.

No further details have been shared, such as the number of active machines or the amount of allocated electricity.

Bukele has also been reporting on the rising numbers related to the Chivo BTC wallet, and, per his tweet, on October 1, “2.73 million people already using chivowallet.” In comparison, on September 20, he claimed that the app had 1.1m users, or 17% of the country’s population, while a week later that number was USD 2.25m. He added that now there are “180 new users every minute (users not downloads). 1 million dollars in remittances being received every day.”

Also, the government keeps working on promoting its Chivo bitcoin wallet, just yesterday announcing that citizens and businesses who use the app are allowed to buy fuel at a discounted rate at the time the global prices rise.
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Learn more: 
– Latin America, Caribbean Could Use Thousands Volcanoes To Mine Bitcoin
– Bukele Teases Volcano-powered Bitcoin Mining Center as Exchange Arrives 

– Dominated by Institutions, Bitcoin Mining is also Possible from Home
– How Bitcoin Mining Might Help Nations With Domestic Energy Production