Tether, a stablecoin issuer, has drawn from its reserves to finance El Salvador’s $1 billion renewable energy project in order to promote the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) in the Central American country.
One of a few companies investing in El Salvador’s renewable energy production project is the issuer of the Tether (USDT). Volcano Energy is planning to create electricity from solar and wind energy in El Salvador to supply the energy needed for upcoming Bitcoin mining operations in the nation.
The 241-megawatt (MW) renewable energy park is the most recent step in El Salvador’s campaign to adopt Bitcoin, which was officially recognized as legal tender in 2021.
Cointelegraph had the opportunity to interview Tether’s Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino at Money 20/20 in Amsterdam. Mr. Ardoino was at the esteemed finance and payments gathering to discuss Bitfinex Pay and the Lightning Network. He shared his insights on a variety of topics related to Tether, Bitfinex, and the cryptocurrency industry in general.
Two days prior to the interview, Tether declared that it would be investing in Volcano Energy in order to gain access to energy production and use the facility to power Bitcoin mining operations in the future.
Ardoino has also expressed his conviction that El Salvador is leading the way in the sovereign adoption of Bitcoin, despite the limited acceptance of BTC as a payment option in the country.
Ardoino likened the European Union’s adoption of the euro as a continental currency in the early 2000s to a process that necessitated substantial capital to modify prevailing financial systems, as well as endorsement from the 27 nations that were part of the union.
The expansion of Bitcoin as a payment method in El Salvador has had some initial difficulties, as Cointelegraph journalist Joe Hall experienced firsthand when he recently visited the country and used BTC as his main form of payment.
Ardoino believes that it will take time for Bitcoin to become widely used and accepted in El Salvador, as citizens are not obligated to utilize the cryptocurrency in their daily activities.
Tether’s investment in the national energy production scheme is part of a dual approach. Firstly, investing in energy-generating infrastructure has its own worth, which can then be employed to power Bitcoin mining activities.
Tether CTO states that the USDT issuer has up to $1.7 billion in additional reserves.
Ardoino contested the commonly accepted ideas regarding the environmental consequences of Bitcoin mining, as well as criticisms that the industry was taxing the world’s energy supply:
Ardoino declared that Tether’s partnership with a dozen investors is intended to construct an energy source that businesses, industrial facilities, and residences can access. The extra energy from Volcano Energy will be used for Bitcoin mining in order to help make El Salvador a “unicorn with its own distinctive narrative.”
The magazine states that Bitcoin is heading towards fulfilling its promise of achieving “Net Zero”.
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