UK cops stumble on Bitcoin mine while hunting for cannabis farm

When British police raided a warehouse, they were expecting to find a cannabis farm. Instead they found banks of computers illegally siphoning the electricity needed to mine for Bitcoin.

Cops in West Midlands, England seized around 100 computer units that were working to bypass the local power grid. They discovered the warehouse after sending a drone over the site, which detected a considerable heat source.

Mining for Bitcoin devours massive amounts of power, racking up huge bills for dedicated miners. The process, which needs computers to solve complex math problems to create new coins, now uses 66 times more electricity than in 2015, Citigroup Inc.