Thailand authorities have uncovered an illicit Bitcoin BTC/USD mining operation, believed to be the cause behind a series of power outages.
What Happened: A combined force of local police and officials from the Provincial Electricity Authorities (PEA) carried out a raid on a house in Ratchaburi town, located west of the capital Bangkok, reported the South China Morning Post on Sunday. The raid was prompted by complaints from residents about recurrent blackouts for over a month.
During the raid, the authorities discovered Bitcoin mining rigs, indicating that the house was being used to operate a mine and consume electricity without paying the full charges.
It further came to authorities’ notice that a company had rented the house for approximately four months, and the power outages started around mid-July, coinciding with the time the mine likely became fully operational.
The raid did not result in any arrests, as the operators fled, expecting an oncoming crackdown.
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Why It Matters: Illegal mining has been on the rise in recent years, and the latest bust was the fourth such this year in Ratchaburi.
Bitcoin mining is a power-intensive activity, estimated to consume 148.46 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, according to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.
To meet these exorbitant expenses, miners, who are the original owners of any Bitcoin, periodically liquidate their holdings.
But since the last halving in April, their revenue streams have been greatly impacted due to the 50% cut in rewards they get from successfully adding a new block to the network.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $63,792.05, down 0.31% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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