A South Korean shopping mall has banned merchants from mining cryptocurrencies. They mainly targeted miners of bitcoin and ethereum. They cited electrical costs as the main issue. It appears that many cryptocurrency miners used the Yongsan Electronics Market to conduct various mining operations. They were also concerned about starting a fire, suggested reports from the Korea Economic Daily.
Also read: ‘Bitcoin Regulation Act’ Introduced in South Korea Bans MLMs
The report stated, “As merchants who run PCs (diggers) in virtual shopping malls are 
increasing in the shopping mall, there are complaints about power consumption and room temperature rise as well as fire worries.”
Management of the market also said that an increase in electrical costs would be applied to merchants bills. It appeared like the mall’s representatives was ready to crack down on all underground operations within its location. The report also stated the air conditioning was not working well since the miners took up residence.
Gold Rush of South Korean Mining
Overall, there seems to be a gold rush of mining in South Korea. Various mining operations in shopping malls are constantly humming. This occurs because — like American flea markets — vendors rent rooms and space in the markets. Once they have the space, they set up miners and begin to process mining transactions. It is all the rage lately.
The Yongsan Electronics Market sent a letter to a tenant and told them to stop mining. They explained that it is against the rules. The letter stated:
When a mining machine is operated, a considerable amount of power is consumed. As a result, the electricity price increases sharply (due to the progressive tax) in the shopping districts, which increases the cost burden on all merchants.
So Many Miners Mining Meticulously
A lot of power is consumed, especially with as many miners the report said are running concurrently. Apparently, about 100 miners just from one company work around the clock to generate new bitcoin and ethereum. Some news sites suggested that about $300,000 worth of ASIC mining equipment was installed at the marketplace.
This surge of mining in marketplaces comes alongside South Korea’s creation of a regulatory framework for digital currencies. Bitcoin.com recently covered Korean Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin‘s announcement that the cryptocurrency legal framework is in place. His framework detailed that cryptocurrencies are considered “electronic stores of value” or “instruments of exchange.”
This new framework should also provide information on how bitcoin mining will function. It will describe how regulation will affect miners and what rules they will need to follow. Business Korea wrote that the Bitcoin Regulation Act is scheduled for a regular session of the National Assembly in September.
Do you think more shopping malls in Korea will have this problem? What do you think about the future of bitcoin and bitcoin cash mining? Let us know in the comments section below.
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