El Salvador mined 474 bitcoin since 2021 using volcanic geothermal power, bringing total BTC to 5,750: report
Quick Take
- El Salvador’s pro-Bitcoin president, Nayib Bukele, implemented 300 new processors powered by volcanic geothermal energy.
- Of the government’s 102 megawatts of power, 1.47% goes to Bitcoin mining.
El Salvador has mined 474 bitcoin since 2021 using geothermal power fueled by the Tecapa volcano.
The mined coins bring the country's total bitcoin holdings to 5,750, worth about $380 million at current prices, Reuters reports.
Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's pro-Bitcoin president, who won a second term in February 2024, implemented 300 new processors powered by volcanic geothermal energy. However, 1.5 megawatts, or 1.47%, of the government-run power plant's 102 megawatts go to bitcoin mining.
In June 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to accept bitcoin as legal tender. Despite a push from its government, however, everyday cryptocurrency usage remained low the following year.
Bitcoin traded at $65,967 at 3:38 p.m. ET (19:38 UTC) on May 15 after seeing a 7.13% increase within the past 24 hours, according to The Block Prices. The coin amassed $27.1 billion in trading volume within the past day.
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