El Salvador’s Bukele Floats Plan to Rent Volcanoes for Bitcoin Mining

Bukele, who made El Salvador the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, shared the proposal on social media platform X on Sunday, citing the nation’s possession of 170 volcanoes as potential mining sites.

“A ‘rent your volcano to mine Bitcoin’ program might actually make sense,” Bukele wrote, responding to reports about El Salvador’s successful cryptocurrency mining operation powered by geothermal energy from the Tecapa volcano.

The Central American nation has already mined 474 Bitcoins using volcanic power since 2021, tapping 1.5 megawatts from its geothermal facilities. The country currently holds 5,944.77 Bitcoins in its treasury, valued at more than $583 million at current market prices.

El Salvador’s state-owned geothermal company LaGeo operates two major facilities that generate 204 megawatts of power. Geothermal energy accounts for 25% of the country’s total electricity production, positioning the nation as a significant player in renewable energy-powered cryptocurrency mining.

The proposal comes as El Salvador continues development of its Bitcoin City project, a planned metropolis near a volcano that would be powered by geothermal energy. The city is designed to include residential and commercial areas, restaurants, an airport, and port and rail services, with all activities except value-added tax exempt from taxation.

To finance the city’s development, El Salvador had introduced a “Volcano Bond,” also known as a Bitcoin-backed bond.

Environmental critics have raised concerns about large-scale mining projects, though supporters argue that geothermal-powered mining offers a cleaner alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based operations.

At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at $98,727.26, showcasing the potential value of the country’s volcanic mining strategy.

The initiative represents El Salvador’s continued push to merge renewable energy with cryptocurrency operations, setting a possible precedent for other volcanic regions to follow suit. The country is scheduled to host GEOLAC 2024, a geothermal conference for Latin America and the Caribbean region, further cementing its position as a leader in renewable energy-powered cryptocurrency mining.