The Abkhazian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that several raids were conducted to curb illegal electricity consumption by miners. Over the 24-hour period, law enforcement cut power to equipment totalling around 25 MW.
In the Gagra District, 17 mining farms with a total capacity of about 10 MW were disconnected. In the Sukhumi District, nine mining farms were identified, and in the Gulripshi District — 10.
In the Ochamchira District, at least 970 cryptocurrency mining devices were disconnected.
Raids and the resulting shutdowns of mining farms also occurred in other districts of Abkhazia.
They began after an order from President Aslan Bzhania to reduce electricity consumption to 2019 levels plus 5%.
In the near term, the parliament will consider imposing penalties for illegal electricity consumption. They are expected to amount to about 1.5 million rubles per MW. The initiative also provides for possible confiscation of mining equipment.
As reported in autumn last year, local media said that, due to energy-intensive mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies Abkhazia was on the brink of a crisis.
In December, the Abkhaz authorities banned cryptocurrency mining until June 1, 2021, and ordered the shutdown of all mining farms.
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