El Salvador Mines First Bitcoin With Volcanic Energy

El Salvador has officially mined the first bitcoin using volcanic energy, its president revealed.

President Nayib Bukele shared a screenshot of a mined bitcoin on Twitter, calling it “officially the first bitcoin mining the volcanode.”
The news follows the Salvadoran president’s announcement earlier this week that the country was taking its “first steps” toward harnessing volcanic energy for bitcoin mining.
Following the approval by El Salvador’s congress for the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in June, Bukele said he had instructed state-owned geothermal electric company LaGeo to allow bitcoin miners to tap the country’s volcanic resources.
With 20 “potentially active” volcanoes according to VolcanoDiscovery.com, which account for almost 22% of the country’s energy supply, El Salvador’s harnessing of geothermal energy could provide an answer to the hunt for a reliable clean energy source to power bitcoin mining.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.