Chinese Police Confiscate 600 Bitcoin Mining Rigs in ‘Largest Power Theft Case’ in Years

Earlier this year, the Chinese government reportedly outlined plans to limit energy use by cryptocurrency miners and encourage their “orderly” exit from the industry. In the wake of intensified crackdown efforts, some of China’s largest miners opened operations abroad, but it seems at least one mining group tried to operate underground instead.

On Tuesday, police in the city of Tianjin said they seized 600 bitcoin mining computers and eight high-power fans, according to a report from Chinese news agency Xinhua. Authorities took action after the local electricity company noticed unusual electricity consumption on one line. At its peak, there was a 28 percent increase in line loss, indicating increased load. Police reportedly called it “the largest power theft case in recent years.”

Investigators say that the electricity meter for the suspected cryptocurrency mining operation had been short-circuited, which was likely an attempt to dodge the…