Ukrainian police seized 3,800 PS4 consoles that were used for illegal cryptocurrency mining

Ukrainian authorities have raided a crypto farm believed to be illegal in the country. According to an official announcement from the Security Service of Ukraine (SU), this plant is located on the former site of the JSC Vinnytsiaoblenerho Electricity Supply Company.

Illegal cryptocurrency miners hid their activities by manipulating electricity meters to steal electricity from the Vinnytsiaoblenerho Corporation.

Dubbed the largest underground mining operation discovered by Ukrainian police, the farm has nearly 5,000 computing devices, including 3,800 PlayStation 4 game consoles, more than 500 graphics cards and 50 processors, laptops, phones and flash drives.

SBU estimates the state’s monthly electricity theft losses – which could potentially result in a power shortage for the entire city of Vinnytsa – at $ 186,200 to $ 259,300.

Similarly: gamers and miners jostle for scarce top hardware

Some estimates suggest that Sony’s last-generation console, the PlayStation 4, is not the ideal device for mining cryptocurrencies. With a slightly outdated configuration compared to many of the mining rigs available today, even a 16-console PS4 setup with legitimate power consumption cannot make a significant profit.

Ukraine was ranked a world leader in Chainalysis’ Global Crypto Acceptance Index last year. The Eastern European country is trying to lead the region with crypto-friendly initiatives, such as proposing a bill to determine the legal status of crypto assets, including rules for domestic circulation and distribution.