Illegal Bitcoin mining farm discovered in Britain
The British police had actually been looking for a hidden cannabis plantation.

Police in the UK have just investigated what they thought was a possible cannabis farm location and made a surprising discovery in the process - an illegal bitcoin mine. For those who don't know, a bitcoin mine is a data hub that sometimes pushes illegal bitcoin transactions through. This bitcoin mine was found on the outskirts of Birmingham in an industrial area. The reason it was mistaken for illegal cannabis cultivation is because a lot of electricity was stolen there and the site was perceived as very heat generating. After initially discovering a place that generated a lot of heat, police raided the area on May 18 in anticipation of discovering illegal cannabis cultivation. They also kept an eye on the location and saw many people visiting the facility at different times of the day. They also observed wiring and ventilation shafts, which suggested there was a grow inside that was ventilated to aid plant growth. In addition, during the surveillance, the police noticed a distinct pattern and certain signs that led them to believe that something improper was going on. They called the heat, vents, and the presence of people opening "classic signs" of a cannabis farm. A police drone was used to keep an eye on things. So after all these signs, the police were very surprised when they finally went in and found 100 computers and no traces of cannabis. "It's certainly not what we expected," Sandwell Police Sergeant Jennifer Griffin said in a statement. "It had all the hallmarks of a cannabis growing setup and I believe it's only the second such crypto mine we've come across in the West Midlands." Without getting too technical - we're cannabis experts, not Bitcoin experts, after all - the miners use computers to solve complex equations that enforce a Bitcoin transaction. The "miners" are then paid for their efforts, also in digital currency. While this may sound like something a tech-savvy person could do from home, because of the energy-intensive process, they need to go the old school way and set up in a warehouse that can handle the amount of energy they need. Since bitcoin has a carbon footprint that can be comparable to the country of New Zealand, it takes more than a landline or WiFi connection to keep something like that going. And, while this is not strictly an illegal activity, the stolen electricity is definitely considered illegal in the UK. "My understanding is that mining for cryptocurrency isn't illegal in itself, but it is clearly pulling electricity off the grid to run it," Griffin said. At that time, computer equipment was confiscated to stop operations, but no arrests have been made to date. And it might only be a matter of time before bitcoin mining and mining of cryptocurrencies in general are banned worldwide. This week, Iran took a step to ban it by blaming the energy used to mine Bitcoin for several power outages that have occurred in Iranian cities. Iran is also an area where a large amount of bitcoin mining takes place. About 4.5 percent of the world's mining took place there between January and April of this year, making it one of the top ten countries for mining in the world. China was in first place. But it seems that people all over the world are doing this, and it is not an isolated problem. China is also expected to ban cryptocurrency mining and shut down those that are currently in operation. It looks like crypto is cracking down on the UK and, unfortunately, cannabis cultivation is still on the police hit list in this non-legal country. Let's hope for more positive changes soon!

