Subscribe
October 5, 2026
Sign In

Capitalizations Index – B ∞/21M

Menu
Breaking
The Nascent Surge of Bitcoin: Soaring to $31 in 2011 and Plunging Secure Bitcoin Storage: Why Hardware Wallets Are Indispensable Understanding Bitcoin Dominance:BTC’s Share of Crypto Market Cap The Bitcoin Maximalist Doctrine: Why Bitcoin Trumps All Other Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin’s Transparent Ledger: Anyone Can Audit Its Total Supply

Bitcoin Miner Raked in $14.5 Million in Crypto Using $3 Million in Stolen Electricity: Police

Bitcoin miner raked in $14. 5 million in crypto using $3 million in stolen electricity: police

Bitcoin Miner Raked in $14.5 Million in Crypto Using $3 Million in Stolen Electricity: Police


Bitcoin miner raked in $14. 5 million in crypto using $3 million in stolen electricity: police

A bitcoin miner in Taiwan was arrested and charged for mining 100 million yuan (roughly $14.5 million) in crypto using NT$100 million (or $3.2 million) in stolen electricity.

The man, whose surname is Yang, is accused of operating 17 illegal cryptocurrency mining centers using fake storefronts across Taiwan.

The bootleg mines were located in the municipalities of Xinbei, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, EBC News reported.

Alleged Thief Set Up 17 Bogus Stores

Here’s how the scam worked: Yang would rent a store in a building and set up a phony storefront to mimic an Internet cafe or a doll shop.

He then allegedly hired electricians to rewire the power supply in the buildings to divert the electricity to fuel his illicit mining operations. The electricity meters were manipulated so the power usage wouldn’t be charged back to Yang’s fake stores.

The criminal activity was uncovered after Taiwan’s state-owned electricity company, Taiwan Power, investigated a faulty power supply in one of Yang’s dummy doll shops.

Bitcoin miner raked in $3 million in crypto using stolen electricity
A Taiwanese bitcoin miner allegedly pilfered $3 million in electricity to mine $14.5 million in crypto. (Image: Pixabay)

“The group recruited electricians who managed to break into the sealed meters in order to add in private lines to use electricity for free before that usage reaches the meters,” said Wang Zhicheng, the deputy head of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Electricity theft for cryptocurrency mining is a recurring problem in China, where mining is quite popular despite the government’s repeated crackdowns on the virtual currency industry.

China Targets Crypto Miners Stealing Power

As CCN reported in April 2018, Chinese police in the port city of Tianjin confiscated 600 bitcoin mining computers in the largest case of power theft in recent years.

The alleged theft was discovered after the local power grid operator observed an abnormal surge in electricity consumption. An investigation later revealed that bitcoin miners had tampered with a junction box to short-circuit the meters in order to avoid being charged for their power usage.

Meanwhile, Chinese bitcoin mining giant Bitmain is reportedly laying off at least 50% of its workforce amid the prolonged bear market. Sources say Bitmain may also sell off its huge stockpiles of Litecoin and bitcoin Cash tokens to finance its flailing operations.

The news has sent shock waves across the struggling cryptocurrency industry, which has been roiled by layoffs and massive price plunges.

Is bitcoin Dead (Again)?

So does this recent barrage of bad news spell the end of bitcoin? Maybe so, maybe not.

bitcoin has “died” 90 times in 2018. That’s slightly less than the 125 times it died in 2017 — when the bitcoin price approached a record high of almost $20,000.

Crypto evangelists like the Winklevoss twins are staying the course, saying bitcoin’s price — like life — is cyclical. It goes up, then down, then up again. Only noobs think an asset’s price chart has a linear trajectory, they say.

When asked about the Crypto Winter, Tyler Winklevoss quipped: “We’re totally at home in winter.”

Similarly, Jeff Sprecher — chairman of the New York Stock Exchange — said he has no doubt that bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are here to stay despite the current bear market.

“The unequivocal answer is yes [crypto will survive],” Sprecher said.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

Get Exclusive Crypto Analysis by Professional Traders and Investors on Hacked.com. Sign up now and get the first month for free. Click here.

Advertisement

Published at Thu, 27 Dec 2018 23:47:34 +0000

Previous Article

ICO Treasuries Offloaded the Most ETH in November and December This Year

 Next Article

Blockchain Impact US-Canada LP-GP Investor Summit 2019

You might be interested in …

Tokenized Equities Will Boost Market Confidence For Both Issuers and Investors

Small to medium-sized businesses play an important role in the economic development of a country. Their role in terms of production, employment generation, contribution to exports and facilitating equitable distribution of income is very critical. They also supply essential products for mass consumption and exports.

Banks hardly give loans

Despite the importance of this sector to the economic life of any given nation, the universal norm remains that it is difficult for them to have access to much-needed funds for proper development and establishment. Most banks are reluctant to issue loans to small businesses due to the high-risk level associated with emerging businesses. This might be because of the absence of collateral, or as a result of the fact that such businesses hold no proven track records in most cases in order to meet up with the standards set by the banks.

The ICO escape

The advent of the decentralized and unregulated crowdfunding system known as Initial Coin Offering (ICO) happens to provide a huge bailout opportunity for both emerging and existing businesses who may find it difficult to meet up with the standards of the banks and other financial institutions. This ICO model enables a crowdfunding process that cuts through geographical boundaries on a global level. This system makes it possible for different classes of individuals from across the globe to be able to contribute towards a project without much difficulties.

Apparently, the ICO model spreads the risk across numerous contributors who are left with independent tokens that do not necessarily retain any equity from the parent business or company. The token’s values are only determined by general economic forces in the token marketplace. This phenomenon largely exempts the token vendors from any responsibility and is suspected to be one of the major reasons why inconsistencies exist in the ICO ecosystem, and why examples of fraud and dishonesty are rampant.

In essence, traditional pathways leave the entire business environment shortchanged with inefficient and unsustainable financing procedures, while implementing the ICO model opens up a huge potential for the market, but comes with associated loopholes that form a setback to the entire ICO ecosystem.

The balance point

Finding the balance by introducing a system where the shackles of difficulty in fundraising are broken, while investors are protected by retaining tokenized equities of their businesses of interest is the ultimate objective of Stamps Platform.

The Stamps platform is an alternative to the traditional ICO model; Stamps will provide a safe, inexpensive and transparent path for businesses to issue equity in the form of tradable tokens that represent an ownership share of their company. This medium allows businesses to reach a growing community of STAMP enthusiasts interested in emerging technologies and innovative business ideas.

When a business chooses to issue equity tokens through the Stamps platform, they will retain a portion of them, while the rest are gifted to STAMP coin holders, similar to the ever so popular “AirDrop” model. Once a market has formed, the business can then liquidate a portion of their retained equity tokens on the open market to fund their operations as needed. If the market fails to form in an agreed timeframe, the equity will be returned to the issuer.

As you can see there is a very little risk to the issuing business, but this is not a one-sided affair, there are also many benefits for the equity token holders. Just by holding the equity tokens one will be receiving legal ownership rights of the issuing business. There are also bitcoin Dividend Payments, Voting Privileges, Merger/Acquisition Payouts, and all of the legal privileges that come along with holding equity shares.

The STAMP Coin distribution is planned in an ICO with a Soft Cap Raise of $1 mln and a Hard Cap Raise of $89 mln.

The Stamps Platform is designed to achieve the ultimate balance where every participant will be adequately protected, be it the equity token issuer or the holder. A confidence filled market is indeed a potentially robust market.

The post Tokenized Equities Will Boost Market Confidence For Both Issuers and Investors appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Close Menu