Buying cryptocurrency for investment might not be the best idea because of how expensive it can be, and due to the ever-fluctuating prices. Ideally, mining for it yourself could be a more cost-effective solution if you can scale up your operations, which is what Ukranian authorities have discovered when they raided a farm dedicated to crypto mining.
When they arrived at the farm, they discovered it was home to over 5,000 computers, 3,800 PS4 consoles, and it was also being run on stolen electricity, which apparently was the biggest problem with the entire operation. Based on the number of computers and consoles that were being run, it was estimated that this amounted to $186,200 to $259,300 in electricity costs per month that were not paid.
The authorities even claim that due to the massive consumption of energy, it caused spikes that left other people without power. Investigations are currently underway to identify the people who might have been involved in these operations. That being said, the amount of energy required to mine cryptocurrency has been raised as an issue in the past.
It is also one of the reasons why Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk stated that they will not be accepting bitcoin as payment anymore until it becomes more sustainable.