For years, Bitcoin has been receiving complaints about its intensive power necessities and use of advanced laptop gear. As such, the BTC mining trade is repeatedly on the lookout for methods to deal with the cryptocurrency’s excessive power use with out sacrificing its technology.
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador might have one sensible consideration for this rising concern: introduce a “rent-a-volcano” program to harness geothermal power to energy Bitcoin mining.
Beneath the proposal, the federal government will permit third events to harness the nation’s geothermal assets. If Bukele’s suggestion is accredited, El Salvador will grow to be a pioneer in utilizing pure power to mine the digital asset.
And with 170 volcanoes…⁰A “lease your volcano to mine Bitcoin” program would possibly truly make sense 🤔 https://t.co/BENtEqher1
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) November 24, 2024
‘Hire A Volcano’ For Bitcoin Mining Makes Sense, Says Bukele
Bitcoin mining is a well-liked matter in El Salvador, one of many first international locations to legitimize Bitcoin as a monetary asset. As a pro-crypto chief, President Bukele has at all times been looking out for initiatives and packages that may improve adoption. And for Bukele, harnessing the nation’s pure power assets is an effective way to spice up crypto mining.
In reply to a put up about El Salvador’s pure power, Bukele acknowledged that renting a volcano to mine Bitcoin is sensible. He added that this type of method might push the nation to grow to be the primary to faucet geothermal power for Bitcoin manufacturing.
BTC market cap at the moment at $1.83 trillion. Chart: TradingView.com
Mining Rigs Powered By Geothermal Power
El Salvador is likely one of the leaders in BTC mining, and it has already mined 474 Bitcoins valued at $46 million since 2021. In a put up on November twenty fifth, Bukele launched the idea of a “lease a volcano” BTC mining program impressed by the success of its geothermal mining amenities.
🇸🇻 NAYIB BUKELE IS CONSIDERING A PROGRAM TO RENT VOLCANOES TO MINE #BITCOIN:
‘with 170 volcanoes… it would truly make sense’ 🌋 pic.twitter.com/azSU3o9Dco
— The Bitcoin Convention (@TheBitcoinConf) November 25, 2024
Bukele’s put up responded to a different Twitter/X person’s put up on BTC mining utilizing geothermal power. The president reacted by saying that with 170 volcanoes, this system to lease out volcanoes is believable.
Ecologists Hit Plan To Set Up Crypto Cities Close to Volcanoes
Nonetheless, not everybody agrees with Bukele’s plan to energy its mining actions with geothermal power. For some ecologists, the power generated from geothermal crops is probably not sufficient to energy these BTC mining operations.
Ricardo Navarro, a number one ecologist, argued towards Bukele’s plan in 2021. He mentioned that the president doesn’t perceive the nation’s power state of affairs, and throwing mining into the combination will complicate the nation’s power issues.
In September 2021, Bukele launched a plan for a volcano-powered mining facility. Nonetheless, ecologies like Navarro criticized the institution of a “Bitcoin Metropolis” close to a volcano, saying that these are impractical. As well as, some critics say that utilizing geothermal continues to be costly and never sustainable.
Featured picture from Washington Put up, chart from TradingView
