​Tonga accepts bitcoin donations after tsunami

What’s new? Last week, the Kingdom of Tonga experienced the shockwave of a massive volcanic eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano. The first eruption was followed by more, leaving the residents of Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga, to face a tsunami. Twitter user onair_blair called on former Tonga’s legislator Lord Fusitu’a to create a wallet address where people can donate bitcoins for the government’s relief funds.

Hey @LordFusitua, you should setup a #bitcoin wallet for #Tonga Relief Funds and receive via #LightningNetwork.I've learned much about you and your nation through #btc Twitter and am hoping this is a part of the solution.Hoping you come out of this stronger than before 💪— ₿LAIR🎙 (@onair_blair) January 16, 2022

How did events develop? The owners of cryptocurrencies have expressed their intention to donate bitcoins for relief operations. At the time of writing, no casualties have been reported. However, air and water pollution are now one of the significant problems in the Kingdom.

Lord Fusitu’a responded to onair_blair’s post by providing a BTC wallet address and a link where people can donate funds. Since yesterday, 0,10794983 BTC ($4 625,29) has been received to this address.

What had happened before? Lord Fusitu’a noted that the country intends to follow the path of El Salvador in adopting bitcoin as a legal tender. He spoke about plans to use the geothermal energy of volcanoes to mine bitcoins, which will help the country's economy.

“The country has 21 volcanoes and each volcano produces 95 000 megawatts at all times leaving much to spare. A single volcano can generate $2 000 worth of bitcoin daily, and this will be given to Tongan families.”