Bitcoin Mining Operation Is Uncovered During U.K. Drug Bust

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Police in England went looking for a marijuana farm and instead found a warehouse full of computers using stolen electricity to create bitcoin

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MARKETS

Bitcoin Mining Operation Is Uncovered During U.K. Drug Bust

Police suspecting illegal marijuana farm find cryptocurrency operation running on stolen electricity

By Paul J. Davies and Caitlin Ostroff
Updated May 28, 2021 12:41 pm ET

British police got a shock when they raided a suspected illegal cannabis farm this week: Instead of halogen lamps and weed, they found about 100 computers mining bitcoin.

Officers from the West Midlands Police forced entry into the warehouse in an area west of the city of Birmingham known as the Black Country with a drug warrant, after intelligence suggested it was being used to grow the illegal crop.

Unusual amounts of wiring and ventilation were visible on the outside of the building and a drone had measured high levels of heat rising from it—classic signs of a cannabis factory. But the officers broke in to discover a huge bank of computers in what they now suspect was a cryptocurrency mine.

They also found that the computers used stolen electricity by tapping directly into the power supply outside of the warehouse’s circuits. Police said the mine consumed thousands of pounds worth of electricity (£1 is equivalent to around $1.40).

Cryptocurrency mining, particularly for has become a lucrative business as its value has shot higher, peaking at about $60,000 per bitcoin in April. But mining the coins, where computers race to solve complex mathematical puzzles, is also hugely energy-intensive and very costly.

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And yes we did get a "Back to the Future" reference in a markets story

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[TheFarseer]

1. Should cryptocurrency be illegal altogether?

It's used for ransomware and to waste shit loads of electricity. Are there any up sides?

[CloudWatcher]

5. yes, it should be illegal

The main advantage to bitcoin is that it's used for underground economies, and the cost to society is enormous.

[snowybirdie]

2. To us uninitiated folks

this story is incomprehensible. Anyone know what the hell this means?

[Baitball Blogger]

3. +1

I'm thinking, that bitcoin has circumvented all the cumbersome obstacles necessary to make counterfeit money.

Sounds very unreliable, and very impractical.

[CloudWatcher]

6. mining bitcoins

The way you "make" brand new bitcoins is by solving a math problem. Initially it was easy, then it gets harder and harder over time. Now it requires very fast computers running for a long time.

The main cost to the bitcoin "miner" is energy consumption.

So if you can get others to run it for you (via bitcoin mining malware), you get a free ride.

Or if you can steal the electricity (by hooking up your computers on the "other" side of the electricity meter), then you also get a free ride.

The cops figured out that this place was consuming a lot of electricity and producing a lot of heat. Normally signs of an illegal grow. But it turns out it was people mining bitcoins.

[snowybirdie]

9. Now its beginning

to make sense. Still think it'll all collapse one day, but I'm better informed. Thanks.

[Thyla]

4. There would be no issue here at all

Had they not been stealing electricity.
That's about all there is to the story.

[CloudWatcher]

7. The other side of the story ...

The other piece of the story is that the police monitor energy consumption. I can hardly wait until "smart" meters are deployed and the police (and home burglars) make all sorts of assumptions about you based on very detailed electricity usage.

[Thyla]

8. Well yes

And fly drones with IR to monitor heat production and such.
Still had they been paying for the electricity I doubt this story would of seen light of day but clickbait is clickbait. More so when people don´t understand it.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Other articles say they got a tip-off about the wiring and ducts looking wrong for the building

eg and people coming and going at unexpected times: eg https://news.sky.com/story/west-midlands-illegal-bitcoin-mine-powered-by-stolen-electricity-uncovered-at-suspected-cannabis-farm-12319255

So it doesn't mean they monitor consumption; just that they'll use a drone to check for heat when a cannabis farm is suspected. Which isn't news.