1 sat \ 0 replies \ @cryptocoin 6 Jul 2022 \ parent \ on: Are Bitcoiners too uncritical of El Salvador and Nayib Bukele??? bitcoin
Lack of interest at the time. Half the funds raised for the bonds would be locked into bitcoin, and with bitcoin falling in price, and, if I remember correctly, a chunk of the funds would also go into developing the geothermal plant and mining bitcoin. We've seen public bitcoin mining operators lose 90% from their ATHs, so it's not a surprise that the bonds conceived of almost a year ago no longer have sufficient interest from investors.
I wouldn't count it out though. Geothermal is a great renewable energy source for generating power, and it is a great match for bitcoin mining since it provides a constant supply 24/7. So if bitcoin mining will help subsidize the plant (by increasing its revenue potential), it becomes a viable economic endeavor (whereas without bitcoin mining it might not get built simply because there wouldn't otherwise be sufficient demand for the generation capacity on day one when production begins).