El Salvador Volcanic Bitcoin Mining Yields 473.5 BTC, Boosting Holdings to 5,750 Coins

El Salvador has mined 473.5 Bitcoin since September 2021 using geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano. According to official data released by the country’s “Bitcoin Office” on Tuesday, this brings the government’s total Bitcoin portfolio to 5,750 BTC.

Key points:

• El Salvador has mined 473.5 Bitcoin since 2021 using geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano.
• The government’s total BTC holdings now stand at 5,750 BTC, valued at around $354 million.
• The state-owned power plant dedicates 1.5 MW of its 102 MW output to cryptocurrency mining.
• President Nayib Bukele has installed 300 processors to mine BTC from the volcano.
• El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021 has drawn criticism, including from the IMF.

Also read: Tornado Cash Developer Convicted Of Money Laundering, Sentenced To 64 Months In Prison

The mining operation is powered by a small portion of the geothermal energy generated by the imposing Tecapa volcano. The state-owned power plant produces a total of 102 megawatts (MW). Out of the total, 1.5 MW is dedicated to the process of cryptocurrency mining.

El Salvador has installed 300 processor to mine Bitcoin

Under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador has installed 300 processors to facilitate the mining of BTC using the volcano’s geothermal energy. El Salvador’s green approach to cryptocurrency mining stands in stark contrast to the growing global scrutiny miners face for their electricity-sapping operations.

El Salvador’s strategic step to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in 2021 earned the Bukele administration harsh criticism from various quarters, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  

Also read: Coinbase Investigates System-Wide Outage, Assures Users’ Funds Are Safe

Despite the criticisms, El Salvador’s volcanic bitcoin mining operation has yielded impressive results. The recently mined 473.5 Bitcoin were the result of a collaborative effort by cryptocurrency miners Foundry USA, Ant pool, ViaBTC, F2Pool, and Binance Pool. 

The successful mining operation not only adds to El Salvador’s growing Bitcoin reserves but also showcases the potential for renewable energy sources to power the energy-intensive process of cryptocurrency mining.