While there may be a chronic shortage of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, it is apparently a lot easier to get a hold of large quantities of PS4 Pros. A raid last week carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) uncovered a warehouse filled with nearly 5,000 pieces of computer equipment, among them nearly 3,800 video game consoles.
For those not current with emerging technologies, crypto mining is the process that enables cryptocurrency to enter into circulation. This requires computer power to complete complex mathematical puzzles in order to verify new transactions and add them to the Blockchain, and the first miner to solve the puzzle is rewarded with cryptocurrency. So with a little investment, or maybe even just a Commodore 64 to mine cryptocurrency, people can make alluring amounts of coin.
The SBU detected that a warehouse near the Vinnytsiaoblenergo energy distribution company in Vinnytsia was stealing large amounts of electricity. Upon investigation, the SBU uncovered one of the largest underground crypto farms ever unearthed by Ukrainian law enforcement. Although the list of seized assets does not specify the make or model of the 3,800 video game consoles found, images of the warehouse show row after row of PS4 Pros arrayed neatly on shelves. If the consoles were purchased new and they were all PS4 Pros, that is an estimated investment of over $1.5 million.
According to the preliminary conclusion of experts, it is estimated that the cryptocurrency miners were stealing anywhere from $183,000 to $256,000 worth of electricity every month, an amount that could have left the nearby residents of Vinnytsia without power. In order to hide their illegal consumption of electricity, the miners used special meters as well as “conventional means" to account for the energy usage.
Upon investigating the warehouse and the homes of the crypto miners, who are residents of Vinnytsia and neighboring Kyiv, law enforcement seized the aforementioned game consoles, more than 500 graphics cards, and 50 computer processors, as well as documentation and devices to track energy consumption such as notebooks and flash drives.
Some Ukrainian media outlets have speculated that the Vinnytsiaoblenergo company may have been involved by either allowing some of the operations to be carried out on company property, disregarding the activity, or even perhaps some employees participating. The energy company released a statement in which it denied any involvement in the illegal activity and asserted that crypto mining has never occurred on company premises. Furthermore, Vinnytsiaoblenergo maintains that company specialists worked with official inspectors and did not uncover any electricity theft, therefore concluding that reports by the SBU of illegal activity are false.
Source: Kotaku