600 Bitcoin Mining Rigs Stolen in Icelandic Heist

Amid the frenzy of cryptocurrency mining, industrious thieves are longing to create a fortune for themselves by making away with not only the cryptocurrencies themselves but also the devices that churn out the digital coins. A number of eleven individuals have been arrested in Iceland in connection with a massive heist where 600 Bitcoin mining rigs were stolen from one of the many mining operations on the island.

Authorities are going as far as calling this massive heist one of the biggest cases of theft in the country. Just as well, this is indeed a great loss. The value of the stolen computers is estimated at nearly $2 million.

“This is a grand theft on a scale unseen before. Everything points to this being a highly organized crime,” said police commissioner Olafur Helgi Kjartansson.

Even with 11 people and a security guard in custody, the police are no closer to discovering the whereabouts of the stolen equipment. It seems as if their only tangible hope at the moment is to look for energy consumption spikes in an area that is not known to have a mining operation.

However, this search can prove to be completely futile and much less likely to yield any positive results considering the fact that it is entirely possible that the burglars may have exported the equipment overseas.

Four burglaries were involved in the heist, three of which took place in December last year and one the following month. It is apparent that Iceland has become an attractive breeding ground for mining operations as well as aspiring thieves looking for cheap and renewable energy to fuel their ambition.

Unfortunately for Icelanders, this means they have to share the country’s power grids with a massive number of energy-guzzling ASIC units whose main purpose is to solve complex algorithms in exchange for some Bitcoin.

In the previous month, HS Orka sounded the alarm declaring that the power required to fuel miners on their way to the Island would surpass the amount used by all the homes in the country.

Now that Iceland has welcomed miners within its borders, it also has to tolerate some of the negative consequences of the crypto frenzy that is sure to come. Bulgaries might become a greater concern as authorities do their best to protect the guests who have set up shop locally.