--- title: "El Salvador Officially Starts Mining Bitcoin Using Power From an Actual Volcano" description: "El Salvador has officially begun to mine Bitcoin using the power harnessed from a volcano — and has made 0.00599179 bitcoin, or about $269." date: "2021-10-01" modified: "2021-10-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/el-salvador-mining-bitcoin-volcano" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "cryptocurrencies" - "el salvador" - "the digest" --- # El Salvador Officially Starts Mining Bitcoin Using Power From an Actual Volcano ![El Salvador has officially begun to mine Bitcoin using the power harnessed from a volcano — and has made 0.00599179 bitcoin, or about $269.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Volcano Mining El Salvador has officially begun to mine Bitcoin using the power harnessed from an honest-to-god volcano — and the so-called "volcanode" has already made 0.00599179 bitcoin, or about $269, [according to a tweet by president Nayib Bukele](). "We’re still testing and installing, but this is officially the first Bitcoin mining from the volcanode," Bukele wrote. Relying on green geothermal energy to mine Bitcoin makes a lot of sense given that the process is extremely power intensive. And El Salvador is all in on the trend. The small Central American nation [became the first country]() to declare the digital currency as legal tender in June. A video shared by the president shows the volcano-powered mining operation in action. It's an industrial plant built in the middle of a lush forested area. The Santa Ana volcano can be seen in the background. https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1442949756993490945 ## Cheap and Clean In June, Bukele [promised]() to "put up a plan to offer facilities for #Bitcoin mining with very cheap, 100% clean, 100% renewable, 0 emissions energy from our volcanos," in an [announcement on Twitter](). Several months later and Bukele seems to have come good on his promise — even though the country's earnings are still rather limited. It also wouldn't be the first operation of its kind in the world. "It’s just geothermal energy," Bitcoin miner Alejandro de la Torre [told *CNBC*](). "Iceland has been doing it since the very, very beginning of bitcoin mining." The project has garnered a lot of good press for Bukele's administration, but his many [critics argue]() it's serving as a distraction from much more pressing problems. Bukele has made several big moves to consolidate political power, [earning him the nickname]() "the dictator of El Salvador." **READ MORE:** [El Salvador has just started mining bitcoin using the energy from volcanoes]() \[*CNBC*\] ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()