• Kosovo police have confiscated dozens of cryptocurrency mining devices from a predominantly Serb district in the north of the nation.
• The nonpayment of electricity bills encourages illegal crypto mining activities, which has prompted a temporary ban on crypto mining until the end of 2021.
• 700 GPUs and 336 Antminers were seized between January 1, 2022 and March 31, 2022 with an estimated worth of slightly over 167,000 euros.
Crypto Mining Targeted by Kosovo Police
Kosovo police have reportedly confiscated dozens of cryptocurrency mining devices from residents of a predominantly Serb district in the north of the nation, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, which cited a member of the Albanian-led government in Pristina.
Unpaid Electricity and Water Invoices
Kosovo, which is majority-Albanian, has had trouble billing the Serb population of northern Kosovo for electrical consumption for the past 23 years since it declared independence from Serbia. While only 2% of the city’s total 1.8 million residents live in the four northern municipalities, they use 6% of the city’s power and their usage is on rise from 214 GWh in 2011 to 267 GWh in 2017 and 372 GWh in 2021. Unpaid electricity and water invoices in four Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo exceed €300 million or nearly $330 million.
Temporary Ban On Crypto Mining
In an effort to reduce unpaid power use, due to illegal crypto mining activities encouraged by failure to pay electricity bills ,the government of Kosovo has announced a temporary ban on crypto mining until the end of 2021 and has begun a crackdown on smuggled equipment . Announcing this operation on social media Artane Rizvanolli said that “It’s time for other side to do same” .
Seizure Of Crypto Mining Rigs
According to Adriatik Stavileci , spokeswoman for Kosovo’s customs department ,customs officials seized approximately 700 graphic processing units (GPUs) and 336 high-speed Antminers with an estimated worth 167000 euros between January 1 ,2022 & March 31 ,2022 .