Tether’s Game Plan in El Salvador: Why Invest in Volcanic Energy?

Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) has reached into its war chest to invest in El Salvador’s $1 billion renewable energy project to help drive bitcoin (BTC) adoption in the Central American nation.

The firm responsible for issuing USDT to the cryptocurrency markets is one of a handful of companies investing in El Salvador’s renewable electricity generation project. Volcanic power is set to generate electricity from solar and wind power in El Salvador to power future bitcoin mining operations in the country.

The planned 241-megawatt (MW) renewable energy park is the latest step in El Salvador’s campaign for bitcoin adoption after the country returned BTC to legal tender in 2021.

Cointelegraph caught up with Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino during Money 20/20 in Amsterdam in June 2023. Attending a well-known finance and payments conference promoting Bitfinex Pay and the Bitcoin Layer 2 Lightning Network, Ardoino touched on a range of topics related to Tether, Bitfinex and a wider range of topics. cryptocurrency space.

Just two days before the interview, Tether announced that it would be investing in volcanic energy to generate energy and leverage that facility to power future bitcoin mining farms.

There is also an ideological element to the move, with Ardoino stressing his belief that El Salvador is leading the way for sovereign bitcoin adoption despite the relatively slow uptake of BTC as a payment option in the country.

Ardoino drew a parallel to the European Union’s adoption of the euro as a continental currency in the early 2000s, which required significant resource purchases from citizens of its 27 member states as well as replacing existing financial infrastructure. Was.

“Given all the power he had, it still took five, six years, and even then people were very confused.”

The spread of bitcoin as a payment method in El Salvador has had some teething problems, as Cointelegraph journalist Joe Hall used BTC as a primary means of payment on a recent visit to the country.

Ardoino argues that the path to widespread use and adoption of BTC in El Salvador will take time, mainly given that citizens are not being forced to use an alternative currency in their daily lives:

“It is highly unreasonable to expect the entire population to use bitcoin because, first, it is not compelling. Adoption is driven by private companies and public investment, rather than taxpayer money.

Tether’s investment in the country’s energy production program is part of a two-pronged strategy. First, there is value in investing in energy generation infrastructure that can be used to power bitcoin mining operations.

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Ardoino also countered the prevailing narrative around the environmental impact of bitcoin mining and railed against the industry putting a strain on the global energy grid:

“First, most bitcoin mining is already happening with renewable energy. Second, bitcoin mining is using mainly excess energy anyway, but even more so if we build energy production first.

Ardoino said that Tether’s investment, along with a group of 12 investors, aims to build an energy production facility that companies, factories and even households can tap into. Excess energy from the volcanic power will be used for BTC mining helping to make El Salvador a ‘unicorn with its own unique story’.

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