Lord Fusitu'a Opens Bitcoin Wallet To Receive Donations For Tonga Disaster

Tonga accepts donations in Bitcoin. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - On Friday, January 14, Tonga experienced a tsunami wave due to the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano. After the eruptions that appeared, residents of Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga, had to face a tsunami.

Waves as high as 1.2 meters that swept through the streets and housing made many people began to flee to higher ground to protect themselves. There were no details of casualties or injuries as of last Monday. However, air and water pollution is now a major concern for a number of organizations.

Amid the difficulties, crypto holders expressed their sympathy and intention to donate Bitcoins to help with relief operations. Twitter user Onair Blair urged Bitcoin supporter and former Tongan lawmaker Lord Fusitu'a to create a wallet address where people can donate Bitcoin to Tonga's relief fund.

Lord Fusitu'a responded by creating a BTC wallet address and a link where people can donate fiat to help with relief operations. The address has received a total of 0.10794983 BTC (4,625.29 US dollars) since Sunday, January 16.

Earlier On Friday, January 14th, Lord Fusitu'a in an interview informed Cointelegraph of the country's plans to use geothermal energy from volcanoes to power Bitcoin mining operations that will help the nation's finances.

The country has 21 volcanoes, and according to Lord Fusitu'a, “each volcano generates 95,000 megawatts at a time, and leaves a lot of energy remaining.” Lord noted that a single volcano can generate $2,000 worth of Bitcoin daily, and this will be given to the Tongan family.

The former Toga MP also noted that the country would emulate El Salvador's move to make Bitcoin legal tender. In a series of tweets published on Wednesday, Lord Fusitu'a said that this could happen as early as November or December this year.