Illegal cryptocurrency miners have been held responsible for significant power outages in Abkhazia, which is a new setback for the area.
In recent years, altcoin mining and bitcoin (BTC) have dominated news headlines in the de facto Caucasus-based state. Abkhazia borders Russia and is located in Georgia’s northwest. It is also a great place to mine tokens because of its climate and cheap energy prices.
However, years of blackouts, outages, and power shortages have been attributed to miners. In 2020, irate residents evicted cryptocurrency miners from a community by force, accusing them of being responsible for days of power outages.
According to numerous reports, miners have linked their rigs straight to power networks in an attempt to mine coins “for free.”
The relationship between the government and mining has grown more complicated. In the past, industrial miners were hailed as the saviors of new engines of economic growth.
The government declared in 2021 that it would establish a “techno park” to house mining companies. Kazakhstan and Belarus have constructed similar parks, with varying degrees of success.
However, these drives have been plagued by power problems. In response to power outages, the government has implemented a number of “temporary” mining prohibitions and has repeatedly changed its mind on the now-contentious issue.
However, Abkhazia has faced new difficulties this winter, according to Echo Kavkaza. Today, the region is experiencing “rolling blackouts,” the outlet reported. Although shorter blackouts of one to three hours have also been documented, these have occasionally lasted five hours.
Abkhazia: Crypto Mining Blamed for ‘Rolling Blackouts’
One of the Abkhazian government’s main allies, Russia, has been trying to help by supplying electricity from the other side of the border.
However, Chernomorenergo, the power provider in Abkhazia, said that even this is insufficient to save the failing grid of the de facto state.
The “load on the line carrying electricity from the Russian Federation has exceeded permissible limits,” according to the provider.
Chernomorenergo said:
“The sharp increase in load is due to the illegal connection of cryptocurrency mining equipment. The Russian [power provider] has warned that if the load does not decrease, the flow of electricity will be automatically turned off.”
The provider urged customers to “conserve electricity and turn off all cryptocurrency mining equipment that is illegally connected to the network.”
The call was echoed by Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab, who said:
“The entire population of Abkhazia is suffering because of the owners of crypto mining farms.”
The Vice President Badra Gunba chaired a meeting on “energy supply and countering illegal cryptocurrency mining” over the weekend.
According to the government, “about 130 devices for mining cryptocurrencies” were seized in early February. It asserts that since problems with cryptocurrency mining started, it has seized “more than 5,500 devices” in total.
However, the same media outlet noted:
“Everyone is well aware that this is but a drop in the ocean.”
Echo Kavkaza claimed that most miners were using illegal connections and were “mostly” mining “for free.”