In the wave of the digital age, technological development and innovation have brought us infinite possibilities, but at the same time, they have also provided some criminals with new tools for committing crimes. Recently, the Henan police successfully uncovered a shocking case of electricity theft from a Bitcoin excavator, involving 45,800 kilowatt hours of electricity. This case revealed the criminal edge of the digital world and triggered society's profound thinking about network security and information protection.

In this case, the fact that electricity was stolen from a Bitcoin mining machine is shocking. As the core production equipment of virtual currency, Bitcoin mining machines attract the attention of criminals due to their high energy consumption. They used stolen electricity to mine and obtain Bitcoin while seriously infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of others.

Behind this case are dual challenges to technology and law. On the one hand, the rise of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin has provided criminals with new tools to commit crimes, and they use the convenience of technology to make illegal profits. On the other hand, the current legal system is inadequate in the face of digital crimes, and there is an urgent need to strengthen legislation and law enforcement on network security and information protection.

Regarding this case, the decisive action and successful crackdown of the Henan police is undoubtedly a positive signal. Through technical means and cooperation, the police finally identified the criminal suspect and made important contributions to maintaining social order and network security. This also reminds us that in the face of increasingly complex cyber crimes, the whole society needs to work together to form a joint force to deal with the challenges.

In the wave of digital transformation, network security and information protection have become important issues before us. We cannot let down our vigilance because of technological advancement, let alone allow criminals to act recklessly. Only by strengthening the legal system and improving technical prevention capabilities can we effectively prevent and combat cybercrimes and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people.

In general, the exposure of the Bitcoin mining power theft case not only reveals the criminal edge of the digital world, but also reminds us to remain vigilant, strengthen the construction of the legal system, and jointly maintain the overall situation of network security and information protection. Only with the joint efforts of the whole society can we meet the challenges of the digital age and let technology bring more benefits to the development of human society. May we work together to build a more secure and harmonious digital world.

The four most famous international exchanges:

Binance INTL	OKX INTL	Gate.io INTL	Huobi INTL
China Line　APP DL	China Line　APP DL	China Line　APP DL	China Line　APP DL

Note: The above exchange logo is the official website registration link, and the text is the APP download link.

According to the market data of coinmarketcap.com, the current price of Bitcoin is about 9,500 US dollars. Since the low point in March this year, the price of Bitcoin has been rising all the way, approaching the 10,000 US dollar mark again.

Bitcoin has been rising fiercely since the low point in March this year

The hot market has attracted various "gold diggers". Some criminals have started to think badly - stealing electricity for mining. According to Dahe Daily on the 29th, the Guangming Road Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Pingdingshan City, Henan Province successfully cracked a case of stealing electricity from a Bitcoin mining machine and arrested a criminal suspect.

According to the police in charge of the case, on the morning of May 17, the case investigation team of the Guangming Road Public Security Bureau received a report from the relevant departments that a transformer located on Miner Road had huge power loss and suspected that there was a line leakage. Therefore, the staff of the power supply company conducted a safety inspection in the surrounding community and immediately found that a user in a family compound on Miner Road in the urban area bypassed the meter and connected the power supply line without authorization. This behavior was suspected of stealing electricity, and the staff of the power supply company immediately called the police.

After receiving the alarm, the case investigation team of Guangming Road Public Security Bureau quickly attacked and immediately investigated the scene, collected physical evidence, and fixed evidence. After investigation, it was found that since July 2019, the criminal suspect Ma had 13 mining machines (commonly known as virtual currency mining machines) at home, which consumed a lot of electricity. In order to reduce costs, Ma had a crooked idea and wanted to steal electricity by hanging wires privately. So he spent money to hire someone to privately modify the wires and lines, and the electricity was not used through the meter, thus achieving "free" electricity. Finally, after the final calculation by the power supply management department, Ma stole 45,809.28 kilowatts (kwh) of electricity, and the amount involved was 28,058.18 yuan. Recently, Guangming Road Public Security Bureau took criminal compulsory measures against Ma who was suspected of theft in accordance with the law. At present, the case is still under further investigation.

Image source: Dahe Daily

Coincidentally, in recent years, news about criminals stealing electricity for mining has often appeared in newspapers. For example, to mine Bitcoin, an old lady stole tens of thousands of degrees of electricity and was sentenced to four months in prison!

According to a previous report by the Economic Daily, a Tangshan woman surnamed Chang, born in 1958, stole 17,277.6 kilowatt-hours of electricity from January 11 to October 2, 2018, in order to run a Bitcoin mining machine for "mining", and made an illegal profit of 6,500 yuan. After investigation by the public security, the case has been solved. The first instance of the People's Court of Kaiping District, Tangshan City, sentenced the defendant Chang Guifeng to four months of detention and a fine of 10,000 yuan for the crime of theft. So, how much power does the Bitcoin network consume? How high is the cost of mining a Bitcoin?

In this regard, a reporter from the Daily Economic News interviewed Pu Songtao, head of the China Electronics Information Industry Development Research Institute and CCID Global Public Chain Technology Assessment. Pu Songtao told reporters: "Because Bitcoin is based on proof of work, it is related to computing power. To have computing power, you have to consume electricity, so its power consumption is very large. It is precisely because of such a large power consumption that the safe and stable operation of the Bitcoin system can be guaranteed."