Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the first national park in the world to operate a Bitcoin (BTC) mine in an effort to protect its forests and wildlife. Cointelegraph spoke with Sébastien Gouspillou, CEO of Big Block Green Services and the man who introduced Bitcoin mining to the park.
Speaking via video call, Gouspillou said with a smile: “Bitcoin mining saved the park from bankruptcy.”
Virunga is the oldest protected park in Africa and a symbol of the continent’s biodiversity. A report by journalist Adam Popescu, published in MIT Technology Review, he explained that the region was plagued with problems before Bitcoin mining. From local militias launching violent attacks on its animals and employees to Ebola outbreaks and kidnappings, the iconic national park has struggled to earn revenue in recent years.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent eradication of tourism was almost the nail in the coffin for the park, as tours to see gorillas, other wildlife and waterfalls dried up. The article explained that tourism accounted for approximately 40% of the park’s income.
When Gouspillou heard about the conflicts in the park, he felt compelled to help. He met Emmanuel De Merode, the park’s director, and a Belgian prince by lineage, at a castle in France in late 2019. Gouspillou explained that he immediately recognized the great opportunity the park presented.
The park could monetize its abundant and untapped natural resources to preserve its existence. Gouspillou explained to De Merode how Virunga could turn to Bitcoin mining to generate income.
The conversation in the castle was endless. “It must have lasted for hours,” Gouspillou explained. The discussion, as well as follow-ups and a visit to Congo, eventually culminated in de Merode setting up the first parts of the mining operation in early 2020, which he successfully mined for the first coins in September of that year.
Nearly three years later, the park made significant revenue from Bitcoin. For a few months of the 2021 bull run, the park received a bounty of more than $150,000 per month, almost completely making up for the loss in tourism revenue.
The Virunga Bitcoin Mine is a unique solution to the problem of preserving the park’s biodiversity while also generating income. Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process, but the Virunga mine is unique in that it runs on clean energy: it’s green technology surrounded by green jungle.
The mine is powered by three hydroelectric plants within the park, a sustainable source of electricity that was already being used to power nearby towns. The site has hired nine full-time workers, who work rotating shifts operating the miners in the jungle, to staff the facility. Intrepid rangers protect the site, a story that inspired a Netflix documentary, among other things.
The facility has 10 shipping containers, each holding 250 to 500 pallets. Virunga owns three of these containers, Gouspillou the remaining seven. Gouspillou buys power from Virunga as part of the deal, while keeping the mined Bitcoin for himself.
Furthermore, as Gouspillou explains, the existing Bitcoin mining facility is part of a “global plan”, in which there will be more power generation opportunities. Other power plants will be installed throughout the park, he explained, to connect local villages to electricity and, of course, mine more Bitcoin.
De Merode is convinced that the project will succeed despite the ongoing bear market. In fact, some Bitcoin miners fell victim to the 2022 bear market, but De Merode occupies a unique position: The park is not speculating on the value of Bitcoin, but rather generating Bitcoin using surplus energy to monetize something that otherwise would not. would have value.
Also, there is little risk of Bitcoin (or private keys) disappearing if De Merode is killed in action. More than 200 members of park security or rangers have been delicate since 1996, and De Merode was shot twice while traveling to Goma in 2014, so it’s a tragic but possible outcome to be prepared for.
Custody of the Bitcoin wallet is managed by the park’s finance team and the funds generated from the mine are regularly sold to pay for the maintenance of the park. In the MIT Technology Review article, de Merode is quoted as saying:
“It is unlikely that we will sit on Bitcoin for more than a few weeks anyway, because we need the money to run the park. So if something happened to me or our CFO lost the password, we’d give him a hard time, but it wouldn’t cost us much.”
Similar to the treatment of El Salvador in the mainstream media, the “bet” De Merode made has drawn skepticism from experts who wonder what crypto has to do with conservation. Gouspillou explained that it took de Merode a while to refer to the project as a Bitcoin mining project, preferring to use the term “blockchain mining” as it is more PR friendly.
For Gouspillou, he has been unable to find a negative side to the story of how a Bitcoin mine has saved a national park:
“It is very difficult to find a negative side to this story. There is nothing. The energy is clean, even the ASICS: we will recycle them when they reach the end of their useful life distributing them in the African communities”.
ASICS, or Application Specific Integrated Circuits, are Bitcoin mining machines. Every 10 minutes, ASICS participates in a digital lottery to guess the next Bitcoin block in the Bitcoin time chain. As Gouspillou explains, these machines will break down and recycle, avoiding e-waste. The miners overuse clean energy, and de Merode uses those funds to protect wildlife.
Buoyed by success in Congo, Gouspillou has his eyes set on other Bitcoin mining projects in sub-Saharan Africa. He was part of the delegation that visited the Central African Republic, the second country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
Bitcoin mining projects in Africa using untapped and renewable energy seem to be a growing trend. From the mountains of Kenya to the tropical climes of Malawi, Bitcoin mining is springing up in incongruous areas of the world.
Magdalena Gronowska, a regular Cointelegraph contributor and Bitcoin mining specialist, explained why:
“Miners are buyers of first resort (they always want to run) and last resort for places with overproducing energy to become economically viable. As consumer demand in a community grows, Bitcoin mining may be reduced or eliminated entirely, but allowed critical infrastructure to be built.”
In essence, if a region offers stagnant or abundant, overproduced energy, a Bitcoin mine could be financially attractive.
However, the park still needs funds and investment. The Congolese government provides just 1% of its operating budget, while tourism will remain low as conflicts threaten security. As Gouspillou explains, Bitcoin mining is a solution to the park’s problems, as it provides a source of income that can be used to protect the park and its wildlife for years to come.
