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Daily raids on crypto farms as Abkhazia intensifies mining – Mining Bitcoin News
Authorities in Abkhazia are stepping up efforts to crack down on cryptocurrency mining amid power shortages in the winter months. The government of the breakaway Georgian region announced that it is also taking measures to prevent the importation of mining equipment.
Abkhazia Creates Headquarters to Fight Illegal Crypto Mining
Police in Abkhazia are carrying out daily raids to identify mining facilities that have been illegally connected to the power grid and inspect previously defunct crypto farms, the Interior Ministry of the partially recognized republic in northwestern Georgia revealed in a press release.
The department also said it is monitoring the activities of individuals and entities that provide services for the supply and maintenance of devices designed to mint digital coins to prevent the importation of mining hardware into the territory, which remains banned.
Furthermore, a republican headquarters has been established to combat illegal cryptomining by order of President Aslan Bzhania. It includes the heads of the Ministry of Economy, the State Security Service, the Ministry of the Interior, the State Customs Committee and other departments.
The body is headed by Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab, who has demanded that power engineers in the region investigate all cases of illegal connections of mining to the distribution network, according to the government’s press service. Quoted by the Russian business news portal RBC, he stated:
The situation in the electricity industry is extremely difficult, so the fight against mining, together with other measures, should significantly reduce the load on the infrastructure.
Ankvab insisted that all unauthorized installations and operation of substations must be eliminated with the help of law enforcement and stressed that the managers of electric companies have a personal responsibility to change the current situation. The Prime Minister instructed customs officials to identify and suppress attempts to import mining equipment.
In recent years, many people in Abkhazia have turned to digital currency mining as a source of extra income, and the government blames the booming production for the republic’s growing electricity deficit.
The Russia-backed de facto state temporarily banned crypto mining and hardware imports in 2018 in an effort to deal with the energy crisis. In 2021, the ban was extended until spring 2022 and then extended again.
Do you think Abkhazia will continue to crack down on cryptocurrency mining in the future? Tell us in the comments section below.
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