El Salvador Mined 474 BTC Since 2021, Government Holds 5,750 BTC

Last updated: May 15, 2024 01:37 EDT | 1 minute reading

El Salvador, which became the first nation to use Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender, could easily hold 5,750 Bitcoins, according to the “Bitcoin Office” report. The National Bitcoin Office is a government entity that aims to manage all cryptocurrency-related projects.

For one Reuters reportthe country has mined almost 474 Bitcoins since 2021 using geothermal energy powered by the Tecapa volcano.

Official plant data released Tuesday noted that government holdings represent more than $354 million at current prices. With the BTC wealth pool, the nation launched a website on Tuesday to track your Bitcoin Treasury.

The country’s current Bitcoin holdings and launch of a memepool site mean that El Salvador could eventually become one of the richest countries in the world.

Interestingly, President Bukele also stated that there are no plans to sell the country’s vast Bitcoin holdings. Bukele’s administration has installed 300 processors to extract Bitcoins from the volcano, the report added.

Bitcoin mining in El Salvador using geothermal energy

The state-owned geothermal plant dedicates 1.5 megawatts (MW) to cryptocurrency mining, out of the 102 MW produced.

“We do not spend resources that contaminate the environment, we do not depend on oil, we do not depend on natural gas, on any resource that is not renewable,” Daniel Álvarez, president of the Rio Lempa Hydroelectric Executive Committee, which oversees the factory, said AP News in 2021.

Bitcoin mining in El Salvador appears to have a supportive government in Bukele. However, when it comes to cheap electricity, the country imports about a fifth to a quarter of its electricity. The remainder of electricity production is divided between hydroelectric, geothermal and fossil fuel-powered plants.

Among them, geothermal energy represents about a quarter of the country’s energy, as El Salvador has 20 active volcanoes.

According to a 2021 report, the energy produced by geothermal turbines is the source of around 300 computers. Bitcoins are “mined” using computers that solve complex mathematical problems and require a large amount of electricity to operate.

In an industry that still relies heavily on polluting coal-fired power plants, the Salvadoran government is promoting the use of clean energy for local mining.

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