The President of El Salvador Calls The Economist 'ID-10t;' Protecting Bitcoin Volcano Mining

It’s not every day that you see a world-famous head of state and economist go to war on Twitter, but that’s exactly what happened on the ninth day of this year. When Johns Hopkins economist Steve Hanke has questioned the logic of El Salvador’s energy plan for Bitcoin mining, President Nayib Bukele has given the answer – after called Hanke “ID-10t”.

How much energy can you extract from the dormant Conchagua volcano? Where is the feasibility study? El Salvador has a large energy deficit and imports 22% of its electricity use (@IEA). Without a feasibility study, no one knows how Bitcoin City would affect this deficit. https://t.co/uBMEAGEOXF

– Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 8, 2022

Don’t blow your head off

A report by Arcane Research shows that the cheapest Bitcoin miner in the world is Kuwait, at $880/Bitcoin based on electricity costs. In El Salvador, however, this is reported to cost over $10,000 per Bitcoin. Keeping that in mind, some of Hanke’s doubts seem reasonable.

For his part, Bukele is quick put Hanke’s request in the trash of the Central American country is facing a “massive energy deficit”. President explain that El Salvador imports energy because other producers in the region offer better value for money. Furthermore, Bukele promised that everything will change. He speak that a natural gas power plant is under construction and will begin energy production from May 2022. In addition, a new dam is also in the works, according to the president.

On the question of volcanic energy, he speak,

“But we have already dug new wells and we are planning to increase our geothermal production… a lot. This well alone, I tweeted about a few months ago, will produce 95 MW of clean, cheap and renewable energy from a source that will last at least a few million years.”

We have a 90% chance of finding a well of at least +42 MW. Enough to power all #Bitcoin City.

And if the city grows much more than expected (good problem), then we can still use the 95 MW plant that we are building for the initial power supply. pic.twitter.com/7gk1fu8sWg

– Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 9, 2022

Riots under the surface

Bukele can be confident of the country’s volcanic energy and the profitability of the Bitcoin city. However, there are concerns about the locals in the area and how creating a fintech hub will affect their land and economy.

On the other hand, Bukele is optimistic. In early 2022, he predicted that Bitcoin City would begin construction and Volcanic Bonds would be “oversubscribed.”

magma market

The press time price of Bitcoin is $41,757.80. A long way from last year’s high of $65,000, the market is in a state of extreme fear. At this point, not sure what to expect next.

Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index is 23 – Extreme Fear
Current price: $41,473 pic.twitter.com/fMA45Bmy2o

– Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index (@BitcoinFear) January 9, 2022