Tether has announced its interest and participation as an investor in a $1 billion deal to construct a Bitcoin mining farm in El Salvador.
The country is planning to build the farm, powered by geothermal energy from local volcanoes, through a partnership with Volcano Energy, a renewable energy company. The project is expected to create up to 3,000 jobs and generate $400 million in revenue for the country.
Tether (USDT stablecoin) is issued by a company called Tether Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands. Tether Limited claims that each Tether token is backed by one US dollar held in reserve. Brock Pierce, Reeve Collins, and Craig Sellars created Tether in 2014.
The company’s initial goal was to create a stablecoin that would provide a more reliable alternative to Bitcoin, known for its volatility. Tether tokens can be used to purchase goods and services, and they can also be traded on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Tether has expressed interest in a Bitcoin mining farm located in the northwestern municipality of Metapan, which is home to several active volcanoes. Volcano Energy plans to harness geothermal energy from these volcanoes to power the energy-hungry mining rigs that solve complex mathematical problems and add new blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain.
This mining farm is just one part of El Salvador’s larger plan to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, making it the first country in the world to do so in September 2021. President Nayib Bukele believes that this move will help boost the country’s economy and reduce poverty. The $1 billion investment in the Bitcoin mining farm represents a significant step towards securing El Salvador’s future.
Tether is investing in renewable energy sources to support and promote sustainable Bitcoin mining. It will provide capital and expertise to build “Volcano Energy”, a 241 MW renewable energy generation park in Metapán. This park will create an initial computational power of 1.3 EH/s, equivalent to one quintillion hashes per second.
Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer at Tether, said that the company is pleased to be part of the first participants in “renewable energy in El Salvador as an equity investor and advisor.”
For Josue Lopez, CEO of Volcano Energy, the project will increase the efficiency of the currency’s 52% of Bitcoin mining. “Not only is ‘Volcano Energy’ important for the future of Bitcoin resiliency, it’s also an important sign of the new crucial role that El Salvador plays in the global tech environment.”
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