Large Immersion Cooled Crypto Mining Farms to Extract Bitcoin in Middle East Desert

A project to build two large-scale facilities for cryptocurrency mining is underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The high-tech data centers will rely on a full immersion solution to cool the power-hungry miners as the desert climate renders air-cooled mining…

Iran Shuts Down Over 8,000 Illegal Crypto Mining Farms in 3 Years

Authorities in Iran have closed down more than 8,000 underground facilities for cryptocurrency mining in the past three years, local media reported. Despite the government’s crackdown, illegal crypto mining continues to account for a serious amount of energy consumption, official figures…

Police in Kosovo Seize Crypto Mining Rigs From Serbs

Kosovo police have seized dozens of crypto mining devices from residents of a majority Serb region in the north of the country. Authorities in Pristina and Belgrade exchanged accusations over the move, which has the potential to raise tensions in the…

Investment Fund Focused on Crypto Mining to Be Created in Russia

The establishment of Russia’s first mutual investment fund dedicated to financing cryptocurrency mining operations is underway. According to a report by the Russian press, it will be available to qualified investors and will finance the acquisition of coin minting equipment. Russian…

Former Cohasset High School Employee Accused of Stealing Thousands in Electricity to Mine Bitcoin in School Campus Crawlspace

A former school assistant facilities director in Cohasset, Massachusetts, has been accused of operating a cryptocurrency mining operation inside a crawlspace at Cohasset High School. The Cohasset Police Department alleges that Nadeam Nahas stole nearly $18,000 in electricity to power the…

South African Retailer Pick n Pay Now Accepting Payments via BTC at All Its Stores

Pick n Pay, one of South Africa’s leading retailers, reportedly now accepts bitcoin as payment at all its stores across the country. Using the bitcoin lightning network, Pick n Pay’s customers can now buy items such as groceries, airtime and electricity…

Iran Returns Seized Crypto Mining Equipment to Miners

A government body responsible for state property in Iran has released some of the hardware seized from illegal crypto mining farms. Its top executive explained the agency was obliged to do that by courts in the Islamic Republic, where unlicensed miners…

Amid High Energy Demand From Miners, Russia Mulls Building New Power Plants in Siberia

Growing electricity consumption in the crypto mining sector may require the construction of new power generation facilities in Siberia, the energy minister of Russia has acknowledged. Demand continues to increase in residential areas as well, after regional authorities abandoned a proposal…

Challenging Year for Bitcoin Miners as Fewer BTC Mining Rigs Are Profitable at Current Prices

Bitcoin miners have had a challenging year as the network’s mining difficulty reached an all-time high and the spot market price of bitcoin dropped below the cost of production. Currently, with electricity costs at $0.07 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), only 18 application-specific…

Massachusetts Senator Forwards Bill Aimed at Forcing Crypto Miners to Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions

On Dec. 8, 2022, three Democratic politicians from Massachusetts, Oregon, and California revealed legislation aimed at combatting “energy-intensive” cryptocurrency mining operations. The bill introduced by senator Ed Markey (D-MA) alleges that crypto mining “strains the grid” and the industry “undermines U.S….