A 27-year-old Canyon Country man was arrested on suspicion of stealing a bitcoin mining computer worth an estimated $579,000, Los Angeles Police announced Tuesday.
Brian Sora, 23, allegedly stored the stolen computers in a box truck and a public storage unit, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release. He was booked into the LAPD's Van Nuys Jail on Thursday and released on bail the next day, according to inmate records.
Photos released by the LAPD show piles of computers inside a van and in a warehouse room.
Los Angeles Police Department
These devices are part of a vast global network of powerful computers that run Bitcoin's code to verify transactions and record them on the cryptocurrency's blockchain. According to Forbes, this process requires solving complex algorithms to record a series of new transactions, called a block. Computers race to add blocks to the chain, and miners receive a reward for each block.
“Mining, or transaction processing, is done by incredibly expensive and powerful computers whose sole function is to run algorithms that solve mathematical problems in order to earn blocks of bitcoin for their owners, and the revenue that comes with it,” Richard Baker, CEO of mining and blockchain services provider TAAL Distributed Information Technologies, told Forbes.
It is unclear how the LAPD obtained the allegedly stolen computers.
Police have not released any other details as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information is asked to call the LAPD Commercial Crimes Unit at 213-486-5920 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. After hours or on weekends, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Those wishing to remain anonymous can call LA Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or visit LAPDOnline.org and click on “webtips.”
