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Thai Authorities Raid Illegal Bitcoin Mine After Power Outages Spark Resident Complaints
26.8.2024
Thai authorities successfully raided an illegal bitcoin mining operation in Ratchaburi on August 23. The raid came after residents reported frequent power outages. The bitcoin mining operation was found to be consuming electricity that the occupants of the house were not fully paying for. Bitcoin...
Latam Insights: El Salvador Offers Bitcoin Instruction to 80,000 Public Servants; Mercado Libre Launches Stablecoin
26.8.2024
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news from the past week. In this issue: El Salvador will offer bitcoin certification for public servants, Mercado Libre launches an in-house developed dollar-pegged stablecoin, and Paraguay keeps...
Iran is giving $24 to anyone who dobs in illegal crypto miners
15.8.2024
The boss of Iran’s state-run electricity company said some had exploited subsidized electricity to run crypto mining operations, straining the power grid
Corruption in Paraguay: Senator States Illegal Bitcoin Mining Farms Pay up to $500,000 to Operate Underground
6.7.2024
Salyn Buzarquis, a Paraguayan senator, blasted the National Power Administration of Paraguay (ANDE), stating that high-ranking officials charged illegal bitcoin mining farms for operating underground. Buzarquis stated these unnamed officials collected up to $500,000 in bribes monthly and called...
National Power Administration ANDE Employees Allegedly Involved in Setting up Illegal Bitcoin Mining Farms in Paraguay
30.6.2024
National Power Administration (ANDE) employees have been accused of participating directly in setting up illegal bitcoin mining farms in Paraguay. According to local sources, seven engineers of the institution would have been installing bitcoin farms across the country as the prosecutor’s...
Paraguay seizes 2,738 ASICs as power theft crackdown continues
31.5.2024
Power-intensive crypto mining is controversial in Paraguay, where an attempt at crypto regulation was vetoed because of it
Paraguayan Authorities Shut Down 2,700 Miners in Largest Anti-Illegal Bitcoin Mining Intervention to Date
31.5.2024
Paraguayan authorities detected and shut down an illegal bitcoin mining farm that had over 2,700 miners connected directly to the country’s power grid. The operation, carried out in the city of Saltos de Guaira and situated near a national power facility, was deemed by authorities as the largest...
Paraguay Cracks Down on Illegal Bitcoin Mining: Over 550 Miners Seized
24.5.2024
Paraguayan authorities have intensified their efforts to fight illegal bitcoin mining, using innovative techniques including artificial intelligence (AI) and its distribution systems to detect these activities. In less than a week, two new illegal bitcoin mining operations have been closed with...
Russian Crypto Miners Blamed for Siberia Power Outages
26.1.2024
Russian power providers say crypto miners are to blame for “mass” electricity outages during recent cold snaps. Per Interfax, Rosseti Siberia, the local branch of the state-run power provider Rosseti, “recorded an increase in the volume of illegal mining at the end of 2023 in a number of regions...
Crypto Mining Crackdown in Malaysia: Sarawak Police and Energy Plant Dismantle Illegal Mining Operation
31.7.2023
A covert cryptocurrency mining operation, suspected of electricity theft, was uncovered in a Marina Square shophouse in Miri, Malaysia. Representatives from the Sarawak police and Sarawak Energy plant revealed that the successful operation was made possible by a tip-off from the public....
Lawmakers to Resubmit Russia’s Crypto Mining Bill, Introduce Liability for ‘Gray’ Miners
26.2.2023
The draft law legalizing cryptocurrency mining will be resubmitted to Russian parliament which will postpone its adoption, one of its sponsors announced. Members of the lower house are also working on a separate bill that will introduce liability for those who mint digital coins illegally. Adoption...
Iran Starts Licensing Crypto Miners Under New Regulatory Framework
5.9.2022
The government of Iran has reportedly started issuing licenses to crypto miners under the new “comprehensive and detailed” regulatory framework approved last week. The authorities previously issued licenses to a number of crypto mining operations but halted the process due to power...
Russian Caught Mining Crypto in Covid-19 Clinic
22.8.2022
An IT specialist working for a medical institution in Russia’s Altai Republic has been detained for illegally mining cryptocurrency at the premises of a Covid-19 hospital. The man minted digital currencies using stolen electricity for almost a year before law enforcement busted his crypto...
Police in Kazakhstan Arrest Gang Forcing IT Specialists to Run Crypto Farms
7.8.2022
Law enforcement in Kazakhstan detained members of a crime group suspected of forcing IT experts into operating underground facilities for cryptocurrency mining with threats and blackmail. The racketeers allegedly made up to half a million U.S. dollars a month from their business. Kazakhstan Busts...
Security Service of Ukraine Shuts Down Crypto Mining Farm Near Front Line in Kharkiv
20.7.2022
Ukraine’s main law enforcement agency has busted an illegal facility mining cryptocurrencies in the Kharkiv region. The operators of the crypto farm have been minting coins using large amounts of stolen electricity, threatening energy supply to critical infrastructure, the agency said....
Malaysia Detains Over 600 People for Stealing Electricity to Mine Cryptocurrency
30.3.2022
In the past two years, law enforcement authorities in Malaysia have arrested hundreds of individuals for theft of electricity allegedly used to mint digital currencies. The country’s police force has also confiscated equipment worth millions of dollars. Malaysia Police Announce Results From...
Over 100 illegal mining farms were shut down in enforcement raids in Kazakhstan
15.3.2022
Financial Monitoring Agency, Kazakhstan's financial watchdog, emphasizes the need to regulate the sector
Kazakhstan Cracks Down on Illegal Mining, Busts 13 Crypto Farms
23.2.2022
Authorities in Kazakhstan have gone after illegal crypto mining operations amid ongoing issues with electricity supply. Working together with law enforcement, the country’s energy ministry announced the closure of over a dozen facilities minting digital currencies. Government Shuts Down...
Russia, Ukraine Shut Down Several Cryptocurrency Farms
5.12.2021
Authorities in Russia and Ukraine have closed down a number of illegal crypto mining facilities allegedly powered by stolen electricity. The underground farms have been discovered around the capital cities, Kyiv and Moscow, as well as in the Russian republic of Dagestan. Russia Busts Illegal Mining...
Iran Continues Crackdown on Illegal Crypto Mining, Seizes Hundreds of Mining Rigs
10.11.2021
Authorities in Iran persist with their efforts to curb unauthorized cryptocurrency mining. The state-run power distribution company has recently identified over a dozen underground crypto farms in Tehran and other regions, unplugging hundreds of mining units illegally connected to the grid. Power...