Electricity theft allegations led to various Bitcoin miners being arrested in 2 cities in China.
The first situation was that in which 6 people were arrested in Tianjin. Reports say that they used 600 miners in order to generate Bitcoin hashrate power. Electricity was stolen from the power grid. Police say they managed to avoid having to pay bills by simply bypassing electricity meters.
The official investigation was launched because of the fact that the power company saw spiking electricity consumption. A significant difference was in place when comparing reported consumption with what was being used in the grid. The bitcoin mining technology was confiscated, together with 8 high power fans.
China is the strongest Bitcoin mining hub, even if there are different moves made by authorities to dampen this industry. This power theft is actually the largest in recent years, showing how important it is for many to be able to mine in the country.
The second report showed that 2 suspects were arrested in Wuhan with electricity theft as the official charge. These two were reported as using a discarded and empty warehouse ever since March 2017 for Bitcoin mining. Utility bills were avoided through similar methods as in Tianjin.
Nobody really knows how many Bitcoin miners are stealing electricity in China or in all other countries. This is just one of the reasons used by those saying cryptocurrencies lead to fraudulent activities. However, the simple fact that people are trying this shows the popularity of Bitcoin mining, leading many to break the law in order to get some crypto coins.
Do not break the law, even if you can! There are always different ways to make money with cryptocurrency. Stealing is not worth it.
