Bitcoin mining and the potential nationwide benefits from it caught the attention of Colombian Senator Gustavo Petro.
On his Twitter account, he touched upon a recent initiative by President Salvador Nayyib Bukele to turn a geothermal power plant into a mining center. Accordingly, the official suggests doing the same. Let’s talk about what is happening in more detail.
Recall that Bitcoin has recently become a legal tender in El Salvador. Starting from September 7, residents and guests of the country can pay with cryptocurrency for goods or services. Moreover, we are talking, among other things, about paying for coffee in Starbucks, that is, enough ordinary human needs.
In this case, the Lightning Network is used for payment, which is an add-on over the main Bitcoin blockchain. The difference here is that the result of multiple transactions in LN is recorded in the main network. Accordingly, users can significantly save on commissions.
Translation in the Lightning Network costs 1 satoshi, that is, it is very affordable. In addition, it does not take the usual ten minutes to complete the transaction, as it happens with the Bitcoin blockchain, but several seconds.
In addition to recognizing Bitcoin as an official means of payment in El Salvador and purchasing 700 BTC for the state treasury, the country’s leadership also undertook to mine cryptocurrency using the clean energy of volcanoes. Representatives of other countries clearly liked the idea. Now they are talking about something like this in Colombia.
How is Bitcoin used in the world?
Petro noted that the countries of the South American region should use renewable energy sources, which in the long term can bring a big plus to the economy. Here is his remark, in which the official shared his vision of what is happening and the prospect of digital assets.
What if the Pacific coast took advantage of the steep river cliffs of the western mountains to harness the region’s power in an attempt to replace cocaine with cryptocurrencies?
Colombian Senator Gustavo Petro
Petro, one of the potential leaders in Colombia’s presidential election next year, added that «virtual currency is pure information and therefore energy. » Latin America energy policy analyst Wesley Tomaselli told Decrypt what the senator had in mind. Here is his line.
He is right that Colombia has great potential for bitcoin mining because about three-quarters of its electricity comes from hydroelectric power plants. The problem is that Petro seems to extol mining as an alternative to growing coca and supplying cocaine. This is not the case, unless he has a magic wand.
That is, the expert assumes that in this case, it will be unprofitable for lovers of illegal activity and the shadow economy to switch to cryptocurrency mining. Especially if they have more profitable production – even if it is not allowed by law.
Coca leaves
The strategy of using the river network and terrain to generate electricity in the country has resistance from environmental organizations. According to their representatives, the active development of industrial facilities will damage the local ecosystem. Meanwhile, the Pacific coast is being used to grow coca bush plantations – the plant that is the basis of cocaine. Colombia ranks first in the world for drug production.
We believe that the transition of the authorities to the extraction of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of different states is more than possible. Firstly, this is an opportunity to earn money, since now BTC and the coin market as a whole have moved to the stage of another flight up. Secondly, the maximum supply of the first cryptocurrency is still limited to 21 million, respectively, an early connection with coins will allow you to get an economic advantage over other countries. And this is clearly enough to draw attention to BTC.
