Crypto mining in Kosovo is under attack by the authorities, as the Police have intensified their efforts to crack down on this activity. In the first few days of January 2022, over three hundred crypto mining machines were seized by the authorities, and this trend appears set to continue in the coming days.
The Kosovo Police made an announcement to that effect on January 8, stating that they confiscated 272 “Antminer” Bitcoin mining machines from miners in Leposavic, and an additional 39 mining machines from Prishtina. During the raid, the Police unearthed a driver that was transporting six crypto mining machines and forty-two graphics cards (GPUs) in Vushtrri. After a thorough interview session, the driver was not charged with any criminal offense.
Artane Rizvanolli, the Kosovo Economy Minister, is in support of the clampdown of mining activities in the country, and she made this known by quoting the tweet by the Kosovo Police. She stated that “Tens of thousands of euros per month of taxpayer money are saved = energy for hundreds of Kosovar families during the crisis.”
The crackdown on mining activities has been linked to the energy crisis that Kosovo is facing. Its government declared a state of emergency in the energy sector, which prompted the Economy Minister to announce a blanket ban on cryptocurrency mining on January 5 to curb the crisis.
The country imports over forty percent of its energy needs, and the residents of Serb northern municipalities enjoyed free electricity, which encouraged crypto miners to set up shop there. This has changed recently.
In November 2021, KOSTT, the power grid operator in the region, made an announcement that it was cutting off those municipalities from free electricity. Residents of Mitrovica North, Zvecan, Zubin Potok, and Leposavic have begun to pay for their electricity consumption.
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