El Salvador's President Previews Geothermal-Based Bitcoin Mine

El Salvador’s president has unveiled the first steps toward a so-called geothermal bitcoin mine, after saying in June that he would instruct state-owned power company LaGeo to manage a bitcoin mine powered by “very cheap, 100% clean, 100% renewable energy with zero emissions.”

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has shared a video showing remarkable progress at the country’s bitcoin mining farm powered by volcanic geothermal energy.

“The video shows an overview of a power generation facility where technicians are enabling cryptocurrency mining machines.

first step......

#Bitcoin

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) September 28, 2021

Bukele did not elaborate much on the process shown in the video, only writing the hashtag “first step” and Bitcoin next to emojis depicting a volcano and the Salvadoran flag. The president’s office did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

The post comes months after Bukele announced plans to build a geothermal bitcoin mine. The president said in June that he would instruct state-owned power company LaGeo to manage a bitcoin mine powered by “very cheap, 100% clean, 100% renewable, zero-emission energy.”

El Salvador officially accepted Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar on September 7, just three months after the country’s legislative assembly passed the Bitcoin Law.

The latest move by the Salvadoran government reaffirms the huge potential for Bitcoin supporters to reduce BTC’s carbon footprint by utilizing abundant renewable energy sources, including hydroelectric, solar, and wind power.

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Bitcoin has reached a benchmark for renewable energy in July, indicating that the proportion of renewable energy use "may be at or above 50%." (Cointelegraph)