Chinese Authorities Confiscated 200 Bitcoin and Ether Mining Computers Due to Electricity Theft

China has recorded a new illegal activity of mining Bitcoin and Ethereum with stolen electric power.

As reported by Xinhua, authorities based in Anhui Province seized the equipment used to illegally mine cryptocurrencies, including 200 computers after local power providers reported a huge amount of stolen electricity.

Ma has stolen 150,000 kW hours of electricity

The suspect, known as Ma, is accused of stealing 150,000 kW hours of electricity in less than two months. “Hanshan County police found that the electricity meter for the suspected cryptocurrency mining operation had been short-circuited, which was likely an attempt to dodge the power bill,” wrote the media.

The crypto mining activity is consuming a huge amount of electricity. For their effort, miners are rewarded with virtual coins, thus recovering the initial investments (if the value of the currency increases). Otherwise, some are forced by circumstances to make robbers, as in this case.

The cost of energy was 6,000 yuan

According to the report, the suspect revealed the investment in mining equipment was made in April 2018 before consulting energy consumption prices that reached 6,000 yuan or $ 923 at that time. The police confirmed that the suspect had not recovered his/her investment until he was caught by the authorities.

“Bitcoin and ethereum mining are heavily power-consuming processes depending on high-performance computers. Bitcoin and ethereum are different versions using the blockchain technology,” reported Xinhua.

Similar illegal activity …

A similar illegal activity was registered in the city of Tianjin, China in April 2018. Authorities have seized 600 Bitcoin (BTC) mining devices after several local operators reported excessive power consumption. More than six citizens are suspected of involvement in this illegal operation.

China is known to be one of the most influential players on the world’s crypto mining market due to its cheap energy and labor force. Even if globally the crypto industry faces many problems, the country continues to record more and more crypto mining facilities, some of which carry out illegal operations.