cryptovibes.com
Since the crypto ICO boom of 2017, Chinese authorities banned all crypto activities in the country, including trading. Traders and investors have been continuously seeking ways to beat the ban without being caught. Some even go to extremes to ensure that they do not miss out on reaping benefits from the nascent industry.
That is what was happening in the northern Chinese city of Daqing, where Bitcoin miners dug ‘tombs’ to hide their operations. When police arrived on the scene, they discovered what appeared to like it could have been violently ripped from the pages of a thriller novel: Two mysterious grave mounds were lying in the field.
Investigation
However, what the police discovered was not the site of a grim murder. The mounds that they discovered were hideouts for a bitcoin mining operation. After getting a tip from a local oil field company about inconsistent and suspicious power losses, Daqing police decided to investigate the matter and inspect it on May 26.
Police discovered an entrance near a mound, and after some careful digging confirmed that it was indeed a bitcoin mining rig. The rig was illegally stealing electricity from the grid. Based on various media reports, that is not an isolated incident. That same week, in the Heilongjiang province, police discovered that one ingenious bitcoin miner hid 54 mining rigs deep under a dog kennel.
Most of these incidents are suspected of having been spurred by the recent rise in the Bitcoin price. Although crypto trading is still illegal in China, mining it is not. The Asian country has been a significant haven for mining farms in the past due to its cheap electricity.