Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: El Salvador produced nearly 474 bitcoin using geothermal energy, Bitfarms expanded the capacity of its Paraguayan bitcoin mining facility, and Bitso launched an in-house Web3 wallet.
Latam Insights: El Salvador Embraces Geothermal Bitcoin Mining, Bitfarms Expands Its Capacity in Paraguay
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El Salvador Reportedly Mined Nearly 474 BTC Using Geothermal Energy
According to Reuters, The Bitcoin Office of El Salvador (ONBTC), an organization dedicated to managing all things crypto, reported that 473.5 BTC had been added to the nation’s bitcoin treasury. The bitcoin was obtained in El Salvador’s mining centers, which have been powered using geothermal energy since 2021.
The bitcoin was harvested by 300 miners in the Berlin geothermal plant using the energy provided by the Tecapa volcanic complex. These cryptocurrencies are part of the over 5,750 BTC that El Salvador currently holds in its public treasury address, disclosed by President Nayib Bukele earlier this year.
Bukele had made several remarks about taking advantage of geothermal energy, a kind of power obtained from steam harvested from reservoirs located under the earth to run turbines. He even posted a video showing the start of the operations in the Berlin geothermal plant, featuring the connection of some bitcoin miners. Nonetheless, this is one of the first opportunities in which Bukele’s administration offers some balance about the results of this green mining initiative.
Bitcoin Miner Bitfarms Enhances Paraguay Facility With New 100 MW Hydropower Deal
Bitfarms (TSX: BITF) has acquired an extra 100 megawatt of capacity for its hydro-powered Yguazu facility in Paraguay. According to the company, this hydropower will generate low-cost electricity at $0.039 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) without being subject to inflationary increases. Construction at the Yguazu site commenced in March, including the high-voltage interconnection to the ANDE substation.
“The additional 100 MW provides a low-cost growth path for the first half of 2025 without impacting our 2024 21 EH/s target which remains on schedule,” Bitfarms’ chief mining officer, Ben Gagnon, remarked on Tuesday. “Growing Yguazu to 200 MW is expected to increase our 2025 megawatts under management by 23% from 428 MW to 528 MW.”
Latam Powerhouse Crypto Exchange Bitso Launches Web3 Wallet
Latin American exchanges are catching up to their global counterparts by offering Web3 services to their customers. Bitso, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the region, has announced the release of an in-house developed Web3 wallet. The wallet will provide a trusted platform for Bitso’s customers to start their journey through decentralized finance.
With this addition to its product portfolio, Bitso also seeks to facilitate onboarding its customers to the crypto world, allowing them to purchase crypto through their centralized platform and then move it seamlessly to their decentralized wallet. This would mimic the moves of other exchanges like Binance, Okx, and Bybit.
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