Scientists Arrested For Using Supercomputer To Mine Bitcoin

Scientists Mining Cryptocurrency

We have all occasionally done things at work that was a little cheeky. A smidgen beyond the remit of acceptable behavior. In most instances this is limited to perhaps having an extra 10 minutes for your lunch. Maybe sneaking a cigarette break.

One thing I doubt you do engage in, however, if using your works computers to mine cryptocurrencies.

Nuclear Scientists have, however, pushed it a little too far by using a state-owned super-computer to mine Bitcoins.

A productive work day

The Nuclear engineers were found to be using a super-computer based at the Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics in Sarov to mine the coins. Incidentally, purely for themselves, not the state. Just in case if you were wondering if this was their actual job.

In a report via Skynews, Tatyana Zalesskaya, head of the institute’s press service confirmed the arrests although tried to play it down somewhat by suggesting that this is, in a round-about-way, not uncommon.

Any further details?

Alas no. Other than the confirmation that a supercomputer was used to undertaking the mining, very little else is known. Very likely because the Russian government wants it to stay that way.

We don’t know how many scientists were involved or indeed what the supercomputer was supposed to really be doing, but given that Nuclear Scientists were involved though, a stab could be taken which, incidentally, is likely going to be their sentence.

Despite sounding crazy, this news isn’t surprising. Particularly when considering last years boom in the currency. It is, however, a little disconcerting to hear that nuclear scientists were using supercomputers for this instead of something a little more productive.

Why a supercomputer?

Bitcoins are mined by using your computers processing power to monitor payments within the chain. Yes, it is a little difficult to explain or understand. What isn’t so difficult, however, is that a supercomputer is likely significantly more powerful than what you are currently reading this with.

Therefore, supercomputers are, coincidentally, quite excellent Bitcoin miners. If your boss is Vladimir Putin though, I wouldn’t like to try it.

What do you think? Do you blame them for trying it? Would you have done so in the same situation? What do you think their punishment will be? – Let us know in the comments!