Russia seizes over 8000 illegal cryptocurrency mining sites On April 14th, according to DL News, the state-owned power company Irkutskenergosbyt in the Irkutsk region of Russia recently discovered over 8000 suspected illegal cryptocurrency mining sites disguised as chicken coops, greenhouses, forests, paper mills, and abandoned refueling stations. The company has filed 2170 lawsuits against illegal miners since 2019, demanding a total compensation of $18.5 million. The court has imposed fines of approximately half of the amount, and some cases have been resolved through out of court settlements. Miners often use electric vehicle charging or agricultural electricity as a cover, resulting in power loss. In order to ensure the stability of the power grid, many parts of Russia have closed licensed industrial mines and plan to use artificial intelligence tools to track down illegal mining.