The Venezuelan military has seized 315 Bitmain Antminer S9 bitcoin mining rigs it claims are not properly registered to operate in the country. Although cryptocurrency mining is legal in Venezuela, miners say they have been unfairly treated, citing illegal seizures of mining equipment and police extortion.
Venezuela Seizes Bitcoin Mining Equipment
The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela (GNB) announced via Twitter Monday that it has seized 315 Antminer S9 bitcoin mining rigs in the southern region of the country. The GNB is one of the largest divisions of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces.
The tweet explains that the GNB decided to seize the bitcoin mining equipment because the owner did not have proper registration papers. The case has been forwarded to the National Superintendency of Crypto Assets and Related Activities (Sunacrip), the crypto regulator appointed by the government of Nicolas Maduro responsible for registering miners.
According to local news outlet Criptonoticias, this is the first known mining equipment confiscation by Venezuelan authorities in 2020. The one before this was in September 2019 in the state of Aragua, where mining rigs were also seized due to a lack of proper registration papers.