Stealing bitcoin appears to be passé in 2018. Now, thieves in two countries are stealing bitcoin mining equipment instead.

In the largest known theft to date, thieves in Iceland stole 600 bitcoin mining rigs along with 100 power sources, 100 motherboards, 100 memory discs and 100 central processing units. The gear is reported to have a total value of $2 million.

Dubbed the “Big Bitcoin Heist” by local media, the theft of the equipment occurred in December and January. “This is a grand theft on a scale unseen before,” said Olafur Helgi Kjartansson, the police commissioner on the southwestern Reykjanes peninsula, told AP. “Everything points to this being a highly organized crime.”

Eleven people have been arrested in relation to the theft, including a security guard at one of the locations equipment was stolen from, although most of it hasn’t yet been found.

Iceland, thanks both to its cheap geothermal electricity supplies and its colder temperatures, has become a large center for bitcoin mining. A report in February noted that energy consumption by bitcoin mining in the country is likely to surpass that used by its 340,000 citizens at some point later this year.

Across the other side of the world, nine people in Malaysia have been arrested for their involvement in the theft of bitcoin mining computer worth at least RM1 million ($256,000). According to local media, there were five reports of bitcoin mining equipment from Jan. 17 to Feb. 16, with a total of 153 mining machines and power supply units reported stolen by the victims.

The thefts themselves all occurred in the Serdang district of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, with police so far managing to recover 57 bitcoin mining devices. The suspects are said to have confessed to selling and buying stolen bitcoin mining computer equipment online locally on social media and online marketplaces.

Photo: Pixabay