In a tweet, the Colombian presidential candidate hinted that mining Bitcoin could help tackle the country’s cocaine crisis.
The senator and presidential candidate of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, suggested in a tweet that the South American country should follow in the footsteps of El Salvador to mine Bitcoin.
Petro proposed that the nation could tackle the hydroelectric energy generated by the rivers of the western mountain range. This tackle would serve to extract the flagship cryptocurrency.
The politician also explained that Bitcoin mining could also be the best alternative to face the cocaine crisis that the Colombian region has been experiencing.
The comment of the Colombian economist, who is a current candidate for the 2022 presidential elections, came after the start-up of crypto mining operations in El Salvador powered by geothermal energy from volcanoes.
Mining Bitcoins Could be an Option for Colombia
The Central American nation launched its plan on Wednesday of last week. Its primary intention is to carry out a Bitcoin mining operation with energy from volcanoes.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who had already advanced the plans in June, revealed a video on Twitter when they were carrying out the installation of the mining machines.
Then, at the end of the week, the president highlighted the extraction of the first bitcoins with volcanic energy.
The leader said in a tweet that his team is still testing and installing, but this is officially the Volcano’s first Bitcoin mining. The president also expressed that they would begin complete operations for their new bitcoin mining revenue stream.
Even though the Bitcoin adoption project encouraged by Bukele has received a lot of criticism, the Colombian candidate seems to acknowledge the potential of said cryptocurrency.
While Petro did not show a formal proposal, he hinted that he is not against digital currency. Specifically to the extraction of Bitcoin as an alternative to diversify the country’s income in the face of the economic problems linked to the cocaine market.
El Salvador became the first nation in the world to convert Bitcoin into legal tender after the president presented a proposal in June. The country’s Assembly approved the legislation, which took effect in early September, shortly after the president’s first announcement.
The launch of the Bitcoin mining plan in El Salvador with volcanic energy arrives amid the discussion about the high consumption of carbon energy.
Crypto industry leaders, including billionaire Elon Musk, have been encouraging the mining of Bitcoin with clean energies, such as hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power is a source that is already used by many miners worldwide.
Petro is Not Against Bitcoin
The Colombian politician Gustavo Petro has mentioned digital currencies on his Twitter channel before. According to Panam Post, the current senator from Colombia had already shared a position in favor of Bitcoin in 2017. He admitted that Bitcoin could take power away from the state.
By: Jenson Nuñez
