An evangelical church in Russia has been fined one million rubles ($15,000) after consuming large amounts of electricity to mine Bitcoin.
Mining Bitcoin
A report states that police discovered a large amount of computing equipment in a building rented by the church, reports Today.
As a result, authorities forced the church team to pay for the electricity bill. However, while the church did, it then proceeded to dispute the verdict in court. It claimed that the high consumption rate was down to a central heating system and the equipment in the printing office.
The period in question was between May and August 2017. Irkutskenergo, a power company in Russia, noted that its electricity consumption rose last May. By the time August came around, it had reached two million kWh. However, while the church asked for a refund, a court found that the fine was reasonable.
For many home crypto miners, this may see them question whether Bitcoin mining is still viable. For countless people, the cryptocurrency market has attracted a large number of miners. Yet, in recent years doing so on a home computer has become impossible. Instead, the use of powerful computers is often needed.
However, if that’s not possible, people are turning to other measures. This can often take the shape of using the equipment and electricity from their workplace.
Caught in the Act!
In February, scientists working at Russia’s nuclear warhead facility, the Federal Nuclear Centre in Sarov, were arrested. They are alleged to have used a supercomputer at the facility to mine for Bitcoin.
The supercomputer was not meant to be connected to the internet to prevent intrusion. However, when the scientists attempted to do this the security department’s nuclear center was alerted.
Not surprisingly, with interest in the market not abating using methods to mine for Bitcoin will continue. Examples of this can be seen elsewhere.
In Florida, for example, the state’s Department of Citrus, saw an employee being arrested for their alleged involvement in crypto mining. A report in March noted that the employee had used several of the agency’s computers to mine for Bitcoin and Litecoin.
Also in March, two former employees of the Crimean government office were fined 30,000 rubles ($530) for illegally mining cryptocurrencies through the government’s computing network.
Unsurprisingly, if the use of company computers are used to mine cryptocurrencies then the repercussions can be high. This, though, doesn’t appear to be deterring those intent on getting involved in the market.
Do you think people will continue using less than honorable means of crypto mining if they can get away with it? Let us know in the comments below.
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