The Chinese miner was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison and
fined 100,000 yuan (about $14,500) for stealing electricity, local media
reported.
A Chinese citizen has exploited 50 miners round-the-clock (five of them failed later) and three fans 24/7 since November for several months, and by April he had managed to mine 3,2 bitcoins. He earned only 120,000 yuan, but spent over 104,000 yuan of stolen electricity. The court decided to confiscate the equipment and forced the miner to recover the cost of the electricity he spent.
Electricity is a key resource that supports the Bitcoin ecosystem, just like any other cryptocurrency. Today, only one Bitcoin network consumes about 73,12 terawatt-hours per year, which is close to the level of energy consumption of entire Austria.