[Bitcoin Now] 'Brazen Act'...Mined 55 Billion Won Worth of Bitcoin Using Government Servers, Finally Caught

High-ranking Official in Guizhou Dismissed for Illegal Bitcoin Mining
Mined 327 Bitcoins Worth 55 Billion KRW Using Government Servers

A high-ranking Chinese official has received severe disciplinary action for allegedly mining 327 bitcoins using government servers and pocketing a huge profit.

According to local media outlets such as Sina Finance on August 14, Jing Yaping (61), former Director of the Guizhou Province Big Data Development Administration, was stripped of his party membership and public office by the provincial disciplinary and supervisory commission on August 5. He is accused of illegally mining 327 bitcoins using government servers during his tenure. As of August 14, the price of one bitcoin is 168 million won, meaning the amount embezzled by former Director Jing totals approximately 55 billion won. This sum is enough to purchase over 440 apartments measuring 100 square meters each in Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou.

Guizhou Province former Big Data Development Administration Director Jing Yaping (61), accused of illegally mining 327 bitcoins on government servers. Weibo

Born in 1964, former Director Jing completed both his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of Electronic Science and Technology, and subsequently worked as a professor at several universities in Guizhou Province. He was appointed Deputy Director of the Guizhou Province Big Data Development Administration in 2016, became President of the Guizhou Academy of Sciences in 2019, and was promoted to Director of the Big Data Development Administration, overseeing the province’s big data industry, in 2021. However, he was suddenly dismissed in October last year and has been under investigation by disciplinary authorities since February. At that time, authorities only disclosed that former Director Jing was being investigated for serious violations of party discipline and the law, without providing further details. Later, the Guizhou Provincial Supervisory Commission announced that his illegal gains would be confiscated and that he would be prosecuted.

Chinese experts explained, "Mining a large amount of bitcoin requires massive server resources, and the investigation found that former Director Jing meticulously manipulated server access records to evade monitoring." The Chinese government banned bitcoin mining by law in May 2021. This is the first known case in China where a senior official personally mined bitcoin for personal gain.

Guizhou Province was designated in 2016 as China’s first "national-level comprehensive big data pilot zone." To date, 39 large-scale data centers have been established in the province, with several more under construction. Chinese media outlets have pointed out, "We must be vigilant against cases where officials in charge of advanced technology infrastructure abuse their technical expertise for corrupt purposes."