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We’ve seen esports and gaming fit into the crypto landscape left and right lately, but not quite that way. Thousands of PlayStation consoles were modified last week to mine for crypto.
Details of the operation
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) raided the operation last week for allegedly stealing electricity; the SBU is the main government security agency and law enforcement authority in the country. The SBU seized around 5,000 devices in total, of which around 3,800 appear to be PlayStation 4. Authorities also seized more than 500 graphics cards, processors, phones, USB drives and documents belonging to the operation. The seizure press release described the operation as the “largest underground crypto farm” that the SBU has exposed and documented.
The operation mined crypto at a former regional electricity supplier warehouse in Vinnytsia, just over 150 miles from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Authorities have been in contact with JSC Vinnytsiaoblenerho, the electricity supplier who previously occupied the building.
The miners are accused of using electricity meters that masked actual use in activities that the SBU says can also lead to power surges, as well as leaving others without power. The monthly theft of electricity by miners has been assessed by the SBU at between $ 186,000 and $ 260,000.
A photo taken by Ukrainian authorities shows thousands of PlayStation 4s set up in an unorthodox mining operation. | Source: Ukrainian Secret Service: Press Release
Related reading | Authorities arrest perpetrators of illicit cryptocurrency transactions
Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Your traditional crypto mining operation certainly doesn’t look like this – but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been a financially beneficial business for the people who run this operation yet. Assuming that what appears to be no cost of electricity for these miners, the operation could probably have been set up to mine cryptos that are more compatible with GPUs that use less processing power. Photos published by SBU, such as the one pictured above, show wall-to-wall mounts from PlayStations.
Bitcoin and crypto in general have been a point of contention throughout Ukraine. Earlier this year, the country’s energy ministry reportedly considered a bitcoin mining hub to take advantage of the country’s surplus nuclear power. In addition, the National Bank of Ukraine urged government officials to speed up crypto legislation to verify its legality. However, discussions around these two issues in recent weeks appear to have stalled.
In addition, illegal cryptocurrency mining operations are rampant in Ukraine, according to interviews around this particular story in the Kyiv Post. However, crypto mining and trading is not illegal in the country, but Ukrainians are unable to register as crypto entrepreneurs or report crypto exchanges at this time.
Ethereum is generally considered to be one of the most processor-friendly coins to mine, compared to bitcoin. | Source: ETH-USD on TradingView.com
Related reading | Polish regulators issue warning against Binance cryptocurrency exchange
Featured Image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com
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