Kosovo police seized hundreds of cryptocurrency mining machines and arrested a connected person. On Tuesday, January 4, the Kosovo government temporarily banned the mining of cryptocurrencies in an effort to reduce electricity consumption, which is putting the country in crisis. A police dispatch reported that nearly 300 devices used for Bitcoin mining were seized in the operation.
“The whole action took place and ended without incident,” Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said on Facebook.
The energy crisis in Kosovo worsened after a production unit at one of the two main plants shut down and prompted the government to introduce energy cuts in December. The crisis also stems from rising global import prices and rising demand. This ‘mining hunt’ would therefore be an emergency measure due to this crisis. However, the police operations have raised doubts about their legality as experts say there is no legal basis to ban cryptocurrency mining as Kosovo has no laws regulating the matter.
According to estimates given, the confiscated equipment would consume as much electricity as According to estimates given, the confiscated equipment would consume electricity like about 500 homes per month, Finance Minister Hekuran Murati said on Facebook, who said he did not want to allow illegal enrichment of some at the expense of taxpayers.
