Church also involved illegal BTC mining.
Paraguay’s National Energy Directorate (ANDE) has discovered illegal Bitcoin (BTC) mining facilities at a local Protestant church. The estimated damage from the theft of electricity from BTC miners at the church is estimated at $13,000.
The regulator alleges that church employees secretly connected mining rigs to bypass the official electricity meter and stole electricity to mine cryptocurrencies.
ANDE did not say how long the church’s ASIC miners have been operating, but stressed that such abuses put additional strain on the national power grid, which could lead to power outages.
Those involved in illegal cryptocurrency mining will have to pay compensation and an additional $13,000 to cover the process. They could also face criminal charges. Under Paraguayan law, electricity theft can result in up to ten years in prison.
ANDE noted that the incident involving illegal Bitcoin mining in the church demonstrates the urgent need to work on regulating cryptocurrencies. As demand for digital assets increases, the volume of illegal mining activities also increases.
