Bitcoin has become one of the most valuable assets over time. From 10,000 Bitcoins being worth merely two Papa John’s pizzas, to a whopping $19K, the king coin has come a long way. While this industry got more attractive, the Bitcoin mining rewards started luring in several who intended to make a profit through the crypto industry. Bitcoin mining isn’t an easy job, it requires an immense amount of electricity. This factor remains unfavourable for many and hence they resort to illegal means to garner electricity to mine the king coin.
Bitcoin Mining Behind The Biggest Electricity Theft
Even though the Bitcoin miner rewards have depreciated with every halving, the value of the asset has surged. With Bitcoin currently priced at $19,251, every miner gets a reward of 6.25 BTC following the recent halving that took place in May 2020. While this is a profitable method of pocketing the money, the mining process eats a ton of electricity. Recent news from Bulgaria revealed that a village called Herakovo was stealing electricity from the CEZ Group, an electricity exporter in Europe.
The CEZ Group went on to find out that a crypto mining farm in the village was operating over 1,000 ASIC miners. The farm duped the electricity exporter by illegally connecting to a medium voltage network. This theft of electricity was touted as the biggest of its kind in Bulgaria as a whopping 4,250 families could live off the electricity that the mining farm had illegally used for an entire month.
This isn’t the first time Bulgaria is seen taking a drive on the bad side of the crypto-verse. The country has time and again been subject to several crimes pertaining to electricity theft to execute Bitcoin mining. More recently, two residents of the country were nabbed by Bulgarian law enforcement for stealing electricity worth about $1.5 million for mining the king coin.
While the police managed to seize the biggest electricity theft in Bulgaria, the CEZ Group took a while to discover the treachery. Nevertheless, the electricity exporter suggested that it went on to recognize the loss and the location of the preparators.