In recent mining news, Venezuelan authorities are cracking down on mining operations – with one Venezuelan telling reporters that he was forced to leave his home country after becoming the victim of extortion. In other news, a Taiwanese miner was shot by gangsters after failing to deliver on returns on the gang’s investment into his mining operation, and a state-owned wind farm in Estonia has begun mining cryptocurrency.
Also Read: This Week in Bitcoin: Digital Money Makes the World Go Round
Venezuelan Authorities Raid Mining Operations After Instituting Ban
In recent weeks, a Venezuelan man, ‘David’, revealed to media that was forced to flee his home country after becoming the victim of extortion from authorities. David alleges that late last year, Venezuelan police received a tip that he was mining, leading to his office being raided, and his equipment confiscated – with police demanding a ransom in order for his equipment to be returned. Believing that he had now become a target for further extortion, and fearing for the safety of himself and his loved ones, David, and his family chose to flee and cross the border into Colombia.
Miner Shot by Gangster Investors After Failing to Deliver Promised Returns
The Freshwater Gang has invested approximated $50 million TWD (nearly 1.677 million USD into Mr. Wu’s mining operation, and had been expecting quick returns. Mr. Wu was unable to meet the expected initial payment of $10 million TWD (approximately $340,000 USD), citing China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency as the reason. Mr. Wu was shot after an argument with the two men. The shooting took place in the Longhua Hall in Banqiao.
Gao Qitang and Chen Yumin surrendered within seven hours of shooting and were taken into custody at the Haishan Police Substation of New Taipei City.
Estonian State-Owned Wind Farm Launches Crypto Mine
The mining hardware, comprising a bank of computers hooked up to the seven turbine, six megawatt wind farm, was set-up by Estonian private limited company Eesti Elekter. Oleg Sonajalg, a board member of Eesti Elekter, stated “It is great that the decentralized money transfer blockchain technology has found its way to our wind farm. Hopefully, it will be a fruitful cooperation.”
“The more synergy between future technologies we find, the more able to compete we will be in the future,” Mr. Sonajalg added.
Do you think that the situation will continue to worsen for Venezuela’s bitcoin miners? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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Source: Bitcoin.com