Last year there was all this hype about using geothermal energy to mine Bitcoin in remote locations in El Salvador. All I've seen so far was a mining container hooked up to an already used geothermal plant.
Does anyone know if there's still any plans on following up with the original plan?
I have been wondering this too
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Tried immersion mining with all Bukele’s miners and it didn’t work so now they’re back to the drawing board…Heard Max suggested using tethergold instead. 🤷‍♂️
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Who would have thought that large scale energy extraction from volcanoes is expensive and difficult ...which is why no emerging market has done it...
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Officials cited several reasons for the holdup: first, the war in Ukraine and dwindling risk appetite, then faltering bitcoin prices and finally legislative deferrals.
Once the digital securities bill, which Bukele originally expected to pass in May, makes it through El Salvador’s congress, plans for the tokenized bonds can move forward.
If the bill is indeed passed, Bitfinex will apply for a digital securities license to operate in the Central American country, Ardoino said.
One Year In, El Salvador’s Bitcoin Bonds Could Be Right Around the Corner https://blockworks.co/one-year-in-el-salvadors-bitcoin-bonds-could-be-right-around-the-corner
IMO, there perhaps was sufficient investor interest when it was proposed and the market was healthier, bitcoin mining was doing very well. Today the environment for investment in bitcoin mining is quite a bit different.
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TLDR: People were interested when YouTube said "BTC would hit $200,000 in 2022" — and instead the bear market hit.
(Which, I would add, several people accurately predicted!).
There's a lot of (often politically motivated) criticism in ES against Bukele over Bitcoin's subsequent fall in price. He entered the market close to the ATH and his many domestic enemies in the other political factions — who largely control the domestic media in ES I would add — are milking that for all it's worth.
So it's harder during the bear market to bring together support for large-scale BTC projects of that nature. But "harder" isn't impossible; he is very popular among the majority of Salvadorans (I happen to be one), and he has a lot of help from the greater Bitcoin community.
Also, these things take time. If last year was the 1903 Wright Flyer in El Salvador, it's only 1904 now. We'll all have to work and see (not 'wait and see') what happens.
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This was a decent Travel review to, good to see!
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It's a very nice country and I do recommend visiting if you can, especially as Bitcoin develops. The food (pupusas) is great.
It used to have an absolutely dreadful problem with gangs and murders, which were "helped along" by past administrations' tacit agreements with the gangs. Bukele has finally made immense progress toward resolving that, which, far more than Bitcoin adoption (most people don't understand it yet), is the biggest reason for his popularity.
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They may also have been initially seeing interest in the "volcano bonds" from traditional bond investors -- who then discovered that this isn't a "bond", but instead corporate debt (i.e., is not issued by the state).
Anyone with access to Bitfinex, which is prohibited in countries including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, will be able to purchase Volcano Tokens. The exchange is anticipating a largely retail audience, as larger institutions may have internal policies prohibiting participation, a spokesperson from Bitfinex said.
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What does the war in Ukraine has anything to do with El Salvador?
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It has to do with global economy and bond market. We see Bitcoin in truly global crisis for the first time.
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Oh so u don't care about Ukraine u probably don't support hbcus blm and the NBA too huh?!? Lol jk jk so cringe when someone brings up Ukraine I swear...when any business or organization announces it they show their true colors....
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