Russian Miners Hide Mining Farm in Chicken Coop, Scale Possibly More Than 8000 Farms

April 14th (DL News) — Irkutskenergosbyt, an energy supplier in Russia’s Irkutsk region, says it has uncovered roughly 8,000 suspected illegal crypto mining sites, noting the “actual number of violators is far higher than that.” Local officials report miners have disguised their operations as chicken farms, greenhouses, paper mills, gas stations, or even forests to hide their high electricity use. Some residents blamed steep power bills on EV charging or heating poultry sheds, while others claimed to be “drying construction lumber” (even with empty homes) — ultimately racking up electricity costs of up to $12,000. The region is a major Bitcoin mining hub in Russia, where cheap electricity draws countless miners. But illegal mining has overwhelmed the local power grid, causing frequent blackouts. The investigation remains ongoing.