Chinese authorities seize nearly 7,000 crypto mining machines
Crypto miners were illegally using electricity from a nearby village
Chinese authorities have confiscated 6,890 crypto mining machines, which were reportedly stealing power from a local village.
According to CCTV news the seizure was part of an investigation into illegal crypto mining in the Kaiping District of Tangshan city. More than 70,000 households, around 3,000 merchants and 1,470 communities were raided.
Local authorities said crypto miners were illegally using electricity from a nearby village. The Bitcoin mining machines were operating 24 hours a day, consuming up to 40 times more electricity than a regular family.
China has a complicated history with cryptocurrency. It is the world’s biggest contributor of Bitcoin carbon emissions, accounting for 47 per cent of the global total, even though the government opposes the activity.
In 2017 Bitcoin mining was banned, while in October this year Chinese president Xi Jinping described cryptocurrencies as “financial fraud”.
Despite this, the country controls two-thirds of the Bitcoin network’s global processing power, according to new research.
China also plans to launch its own cryptocurrency , which could be why Xi Jinping is so keen to control the market.
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