NewsBTC
No Result
View All Result
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Breaking News: SoftBank, Ark Invest Among Potential Investors In Tether's $15 Billion Funding Round
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Bitcoin News
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News: SoftBank, Ark Invest Among Potential Investors In Tether's $15 Billion Funding Round

3,000+ PlayStation Consoles Discovered In Raid, Modified To Mine Crypto

Taylor Scott
Taylor Scott
1 year ago
3 mins read

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

We’ve seen esports and gaming get integrated in the crypto landscape left and right lately – but not quite in ways like this. Thousands of PlayStation consoles were  last week modified to mine crypto.

The Details Of The Operation

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) raided the operation last week for allegedly stealing electricity; the SBU is the country’s main government security agency and law-enforcement authority. The SBU seized roughly 5,000 total devices – with around 3,800 seeming to be PlayStation 4s. The authorities also seized over 500 graphics cards, processors, phones, flash drives, and documents belonging to the operation. The press release from the seizure described the operation as the “largest underground crypto farm” that the SBU has exposed and documented.

The operation was mining crypto in an old regional electricity provider warehouse in Vinnytsia, just over 150 miles outside of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Authorities have been in contact with JSC Vinnytsiaoblenerho, the electricity provider that previously occupied the building.

The miners are accused of using electricity meters that masked actual usage in activities the SBU claims can also lead to power surges, as well as leaving others without electricity. The monthly electricity theft from the miners was valued by the SBU at between $186,000 and $260,000 USD.

A photo taken from the Ukrainian authorities shows thousands of PlayStation 4s set up in an unorthodox mining operation.  | Source: Secret Service Of Ukraine: Press Release

Related Reading | Authorities Arrest Perpetrators For Illicit Cryptocurrency Transactions

Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze?

Your traditional crypto mining operation certainly does not look like this one – but that doesn’t mean that this couldn’t have been still a financially beneficial endeavor for the individuals running this operation. Assuming what seems to be no cost of electricity whatsoever for these miners, the operation could likely have been set up to mine more GPU-friendly cryptos that utilize less processing power. Photos released from SBU, such as the one pictured above, show wall-to-wall racks of PlayStations.

Bitcoin, and crypto broadly has been a point of contention throughout Ukraine. Earlier in the year, the country’s Ministry of Energy was reported to be considering a bitcoin mining center to leverage the nation’s excess nuclear power. Furthermore, the National Bank of Ukraine has urged government officials to expedite crypto legislation to address it’s legality. However, talks around both issues in recent weeks seem to have stalled.

Additionally, illegal crypto mining operations run rampant in Ukraine, according to interviews around this particular story in the Kyiv Post. However, crypto mining and trading is not illegal in the country – but Ukrainians are not able to register as crypto entrepreneurs, or declare crypto exchanges at present.

 

Ethereum is generally seen as one of the more processor-friendly coins to mine, relative to bitcoin.  | Source: ETH-USD on TradingView.com

Related Reading | Poland Regulators Spread Warning Against Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance

Featured image from Pixabay, Charts from TradingView.com
Tweet123Share196ShareSend
Taylor Scott
Taylor Scott

Taylor Scott

Taylor specializes in crypto activity across sports and entertainment. With nearly a decade of engagement with cryptocurrency, Taylor has spent several years working in talent representation with musicians, comedians, and speakers, and achieved a Sports Business MBA in 2020.

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Related News

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Price Forms Bearish Evening Star Pattern On Weekly Chart, But Can Price Go Below $100,000?

Market expert Tony Severino has raised some concerns with the current Bitcoin price action on the weekly chart. This comes...

Scott Matherson 7 hours ago
Bitcoin

Bitcoin Cycle Confluence Hints No Bottom Before October – What This Means

Bitcoin’s market structure is showing signs of cycle alignment that could delay a true bottom until October. As technical signals...

Godspower Owie 6 hours ago
Bitcoin

Bitcoin Tipped To Peak In 2026 – Here’s Why

Following a rather turbulent trading week, Bitcoin prices now sit below $110,000, representing a 12% decline from its all-time high...

Semilore Faleti 9 hours ago
Load More

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

Related News

Bitcoin price

Bitcoin Price Falls Below STH Realized Price—Why A 10% Correction Could Be Next

Opeyemi Sule 1 hour ago
Chainlink koers onder vuur - crypto experts voorspellen nieuwe bull run

Chainlink koers onder de loep – crypto experts voorspellen nieuwe bull run

Lars Diederiksen 2 hours ago
Bitcoin

Bitcoin Daily RSI At Most Oversold Level Since April — Time To Buy? 

Opeyemi Sule 5 hours ago

Premium Sponsors

Press Releases

  • Крипто китовете напускат Shiba Inu заради този токен на цена 0,00000012 $ с цел 25 $

    Крипто китовете напускат Shiba Inu...

    9 hours ago
  • Krypto veľryby opúšťajú Shiba Inu kvôli tomuto tokenu za cenu 0,00000012 $ s cieľom 25 $

    Krypto veľryby opúšťajú Shiba Inu kvôli tomuto tokenu...

    9 hours ago
  • Inwestorzy kryptowalutowi porzucają Shiba Inu dla tokena, którego cena wynosi 0,03 zł, a celem jest 12 000 zł

    Inwestorzy kryptowalutowi porzucają Shiba Inu dla tokena...

    1 day ago
  • Shiba Inu (SHIB): Мемкойн върху Ethereum с нарастваща полезност

    Táto alternatíva Shiba Inu (SHIB) v nasledujúcich...

    1 day ago
  • Ta alternatywa dla Shiba Inu (SHIB) może w nadchodzących tygodniach wzrosnąć z 0,03 zł do 6 000 zł

    Ta alternatywa dla Shiba Inu (SHIB) może w nadchodzących...

    1 day ago

Newsletter

About Us

NewsBTC is a cryptocurrency news service that covers bitcoin news today, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin price and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening everyone about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

We cover BTC news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various cryptocurrencies.

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Center

Social

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play Games
  • Casinos
Advertise

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.