Bitcoin miner sent to prison for stealing electricity from train network in China
Nearly £50,000 worth of cryptocurrency was mined using the stolen power
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A man in China has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison after stealing electricity from a train network in order to mine bitcoin.
Xu Xinghua from Shanxi province pleaded guilty to stealing 104,000 yuan (£11,300), which was used to mine 3.2 bitcoins.
At the current price of bitcoin, Mr Xinghua's bounty would be worth around £15,000, however at bitcoin's peak, it would have been worth close to £48,000.
Bitcoin mining – the process of generating new units of the cryptocurrency by confirming transactions on an online ledger called the blockchain – has become extremely popular in China in recent years, thanks to relatively cheap electricity prices in the country.
As the bitcoin network grows, the processing power needed to mine them also grows. This has led to a government-led crackdown in China on illegal bitcoin mining operations.
"Local utility agencies and companies will be held accountable if they failed to shut down illegal bitcoin mining operation," a government notice issued by the Economic and Information Commission (EIC) stated in July.
On top of the prison sentence, Mr Xinghua also received a fine of 100,000 yuan (£10,930), according to local media outlet The Paper.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments