Indonesia’s police have shut down ten Bitcoin mining operations accused of using around $1 million in stolen electricity. The crackdown in North Sumatra involved confiscating 1,134 Bitcoin mining devices, 11 meters of electrical cable, and various computer equipment. The police chief highlighted that the electricity circuits were tampered with to power the numerous Bitcoin mining devices, bypassing the metered supply and channeling electricity directly from the poles.
Authorities estimate that the total loss from these ten illegal electricity connections amounts to approximately 14.4 billion Indonesian rupiah, or around $935,666. This action follows a life sentence handed to a Chinese government official, Yi Xiao, who facilitated Bitcoin miners’ access to electricity. Xiao, the former vice-chairman of the Jiangxi Provincial Political Consultative Conference Party Group, was convicted by the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court for abusing his power in a Bitcoin mining venture.
From 2017 to 2021, Xiao allegedly enabled a Bitcoin mining operation under the corporate name Jiumu Group Genesis Technology, worth 2.4 billion Chinese yuan ($329 million). Furthermore, he is accused of controlling over 160,000 Bitcoin mining devices and at one point managing 10% of the entire electricity consumption of Fuzhou city.
The Indonesian police’s operation and the Chinese official’s sentencing underscore the increasing crackdown on illicit cryptocurrency mining activities, especially those involving theft of electricity. These operations not only lead to significant financial losses for utility companies but also pose a challenge to law enforcement agencies trying to regulate the energy-intensive industry of cryptocurrency mining.
The Indonesian and Chinese cases reflect a growing trend of governments around the world taking a firmer stance against unauthorized cryptocurrency mining operations. These illegal activities not only undermine energy distribution but also threaten the integrity of electrical infrastructure and the broader economic stability.
As Bitcoin continues to gain popularity, the issue of illegal mining operations stealing electricity is becoming more prevalent, prompting authorities to take decisive action to curb these practices and ensure a fair and regulated environment for cryptocurrency mining.