- OCEAN Mining has announced the establishment of a global hub in El Salvador.
- The Bitcoin mining pool is backed by Jack Dorsey.
OCEAN Mining, a Bitcoin mining pool backed by Jack Dorsey, the founder of payments firm Block (formerly Square), has established its headquarters in El Salvador.
OCEAN opens international hub in El Salvador
In a press release published on May 29, OCEAN said its new global hub would be based in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador.
The Bitcoin mining pool will use this hub to advance its global presence and promote decentralization in BTC mining.
OCEAN’s President Mark Artymko commented on the development:
“To further our decentralization efforts we needed a global presence, and El Salvador was the obvious choice. With places like Venezuela and the EU imposing legislation to ban Bitcoin mining, El Salvador’s political stance was in stark contrast and a beacon of hope for the industry.”
El Salvador’s “Bitcoin-first culture”
El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The country adopted BTC as legal tender in June, 2021, with the law becoming effective on September 7 that year.
President Nayib Bukele continues to champion the adoption of Bitcoin and has often provided updates on the country’s BTC holdings.
Stacy Herbert, head of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office, noted that the “Bitcoin-first culture” provides a conducive environment for crypto companies and entrepreneurs in the country.
“This decision by the OCEAN Mining team reaffirms that the Bitcoin-first culture we are building in El Salvador is providing the tools that entrepreneurs around the world need to thrive in a Bitcoin economy. We welcome OCEAN and all other companies working to advance Bitcoin adoption,” Herbert added.
OCEAN co-founder and CTO Luke Dashjr said that the hub will contribute to Bitcoin adoption in El Salvador and across the globe.
“El Salvador is on the leading edge of Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining adoption, and we believe OCEAN’s presence here will help to advance these efforts here and create new opportunities for El Salvador and elsewhere,” the Bitcoin Core developer noted.
OCEAN Mining launched in 2023, and faced some controversy as its operations went live.
In November, Jack Dorsey led a $6.2 million funding round for the mining pool’s Wyoming-based company Mummolin.