• The Kingdom of Bhutan has reportedly been secretly mining Bitcoin since 2017, using its renewable sources of energy.
• A government representative said the process started when BTC was worth around $5,000.
• El Salvador has also recently begun mining BTC with power harnessed from volcanoes.
Bhutan’s Secret Bitcoin Mining
The Kingdom of Bhutan – a landlocked country situated in the Eastern Himalayas – has purportedly been clandestinely producing bitcoin for at least three years. A government representative said the process began when BTC was valued around $5,000 back in October 2017.
Using Renewable Energy Sources
The nation has used its abundant hydroelectricity resources to construct a state-owned bitcoin mine without announcing it publicly. However, a government representative supposedly said that Bhutan had commenced mining BTC “a few years ago as one of the early entrants when the price of bitcoin was around $5,000”.
El Salvador Joins In
Another country that has done so is El Salvador. The Latin American nation recently became the first to make bitcoin legal tender inside its borders and has started mining BTC with power harnessed from volcanoes.
Price History of Bitcoin
The primary cryptocurrency reached $5K for the first time in October 2017 and remained above it until November 2018, when it dropped below $4,000. BTC recovered that level in April 2019 and only briefly slipped below that level during June 2020 before rising again ever since then.
Conclusion
It appears that both countries have tapped into their natural resources to gain access to this digital asset despite their economic situations. It remains unclear how much bitcoin each nation is producing but more details are likely to emerge soon in regard to this news story.