Bitcoin Mining Crackdown Started by Bulgaria’s EVN to Stop Electricity Theft

Stealing electricity from rural areas in Bulgaria is on the rise, ensuring profitability with zero costs.

Mining Bitcoin (BTC) is becoming a nuisance to the consumer electric grid in Bulgaria. With BTC prices above $10,500, and new machines being shipped, mining is profitable once again, with a relatively easy breakeven.

The modus operandi of some Bulgarian miners was highly local. They would look for a power supply spot, often near abandoned or poorly kept agricultural buildings. The targeted villages only noticed the load on the grid after power outages. Either that, or the electric company would notice unusual electricity consumption patterns.

With cheap electricity prices, such as the hydroelectric power in China, mining is at breakeven around $3,700 per BTC. With current prices, more powerful machines and virtually zero electricity costs, the rogue miners stood to gain thousands of dollars per machine for a one-year timespan.

Unfortunately for them, the local power grid operator, EVN, caught up with the game after discovering at least four ASIC mini-farms in the vicinity of one of the bigger Bulgarian cities.

The miners would use air-conditioned containers with video feedback and sometimes move them often enough to escape notice. Now, one such container full of valuable equipment has been seized. The electric grid company is looking for the owners, estimating how much electricity would be used by machines - and to potentially stick the miners with a steep bill.

Mining on the consumer grid has been banned in Russia and other countries, for the undue strain on the system. Most miners also seek cooler spots to save on air conditioning. But the mobile mining farms had that matter solved - leeching off electricity to cool the ASIC rigs.

The Bitcoin network remains highly competitive, even after a recent drop in hashrate. Peak mining led the hashrate to a record above 72 EH/s, but later, the rate fell to 55 EH/s. Bitcoin mining will be a heated game in the coming year, as early in 2020, the block production will only yield half the reward - 6.25 BTC.