Today, Business Insider reported that the man arrested for masterminding the theft of $2 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency mining computers has escaped prison. His name is Sindri Thor Stefansson, a 31-year-old man whose only previous run-in with the law had been for minor offenses.
His escape was not considered very difficult since he was being held in what is called an “open” prison in Iceland. An Open prison is even less of a prison then it sounds. You might think open means super convenient visitation rights and maybe a nice living environment and flat-screen TVs. But it is even more open then that – there are no fences and prisoners simply agree not to leave.
The escapee was caught on camera at the Icelandic airport fleeing to, it is suspected, Sweden. How he got to the airport is unknown at this time.
Stefansson had been in custody, along with 10 other suspects, who were all arrested for the same theft of 600 computers. These computers were stolen from several computer data centers spread across the country. The thefts occurred this past December and January. The computers, which are specifically designed for bitcoin mining, were valued at approximately $2 million. These types of computers use special processor chips to make them more efficient at creating new bitcoins.
Since these computers are so specific for mining they are able to create new bitcoins faster than any other standard type of consumer computer. This special skill makes these computers even more valuable.
One reason that so many of these computers can be found in Iceland is due to Iceland’s very low cost of electricity, plus its cool environment. To mine cryptocurrency consumes vast amounts of electricity, creating lots of heat, and so cheap electricity (and a cool environment) is critical to the profitability
Read the full Business Insider article here
