Chinese Bitcoin Miner Gets 3.5 Years In Prison For Stealing Energy From The Train

Bitcoin miner in China was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and a fine of 100,000 yuan (about $ 14,400) after he pleaded guilty to stealing electricity from the railway network to feed his mining activities, according to local media.

The court of Railway transport of Datong in the Chinese Shanxi province sentenced Xu Xinghua for theft of electricity from railway Kukuan in the period from November to December 2017. Xu used the energy to run a 50-bit mining machine and three electric fans in his rented apartment. During this period, the miner stole nearly 104,000 yuan of electricity from the power lines of the railway network and mined at least 3.2 Bitcoins, which cost about 17,300 dollars in April 2018.

However, according to police estimates, Xu could have earned more from its mining, as the price of bitcoin reached nearly $20,000 in December 2017. Investigators tied his earnings to almost $ 6,500 at current prices.

According to DigiConomist, the global energy consumption of bitcoin mining reached 48.5 TWh in 2017. The cost of electricity is more than 70% of the cost of earning Bitcoin.

Most Chinese cryptocurrency pools are concentrated in Sichuan province, which is rich in water resources. The region has cheap hydropower and a cold climate in addition to low population density.

However, the benefits of mining have almost disappeared due to the decline in bitcoin prices this year and the difficulties associated with mining. It has been estimated that when the unit price of Bitcoin falls to less than$ 6300, mining becomes unprofitable.