Hong Kong Police Bust Two in Shocking Crypto Mining Operation Inside Care Homes
Hong Kong authorities just exposed one of the most brazen crypto mining schemes yet—operating right inside elderly care facilities.
Two individuals arrested for allegedly hijacking care home electricity to power their mining rigs. Police discovered multiple unauthorized installations siphoning power from vulnerable residents.
The operation bypassed all regulatory checks—no permits, no approvals, just pure opportunistic extraction. Exactly the kind of shadow activity that gives regulators ammunition for tighter controls.
Meanwhile in traditional finance, they're still debating whether blockchain is a real technology—maybe they should check where their retirement home funds are actually going.
Crypto mining and energy consumption
Cryptocurrency mining, the process of using specialized computers to solve complex mathematical problems in exchange for coins, is notoriously energy-hungry.
Research by Digiconomist estimates that bitcoin mining alone generates an annual carbon footprint of more than 105 million tonnes of CO2, comparable to Belgium’s total emissions. Its electricity use is similar to Thailand’s, and its freshwater demand mirrors Switzerland’s.
The Hong Kong case is far from isolated. In Thailand earlier this year, police raided three abandoned houses in Pathum Thani province and seized 63 mining machines that were illegally connected to utility poles.
In the UK, officers in West Yorkshire uncovered an operation in Bradford where miners were running off an illicit electricity supply.
And in Central Asia, officials have also reported widespread abuse of energy grids. Tajikistan’s attorney general said illegal mining drained more than US$3.5 million worth of electricity in the first half of 2025 alone, while in neighbouring Kazakhstan, authorities discovered miners tapping into enough power to supply a city of 70,000.
