Bitcoin
$579K in stolen Bitcoin mining computers recovered, man arrested, LAPD says
A 27-year-old Canyon Country man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing Bitcoin mining computers valued at about $579,000, the Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday.
Bryan Thola allegedly had the stolen computers in his cargo van and in a public storage unit, according to an LAPD news release. He was booked into the LAPD’s Van Nuys jail on Thursday and released the next day on his own recognizance, inmate records show.
Photos released by the LAPD show stacks of computers inside a van and in a storage unit room.
Bitcoin computers worth around $579,000 that were allegedly stolen are seen inside a cargo van and storage unit where they were later found by police in the Los Angeles area. Los Angeles Police Department
These devices are part of a wider global network of high-powered computers that run Bitcoin code to verify transactions and record them on the cryptocurrency’s blockchain — a process that involves solving complex algorithms to record a new series of transactions called a block, according to Forbes. Computers compete to add blocks to the chain and miners are paid per block.
“Mining, or transaction processing, is performed by incredibly expensive and powerful computers whose sole function is to run algorithms to solve the mathematical problem that allows its owner to earn a block of Bitcoin — and the revenue that comes with it,” Richard Baker, CEO of blockchain mining and services provider TAAL Distributed Information Technologies, told Forbes.
It is unclear how the LAPD obtained the allegedly stolen computers.
No further details have been released by police as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information can call the LAPD’s Commercial Crimes Division at 213-486-5920 between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. During non-business hours or weekends, the department can be reached at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Those wishing to remain anonymous can call LA Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or visit LAPDOnline.org and click on “webtips.”
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