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New York IT Supervisor Could Be Penalized for Up to 15 Years for Mining Bitcoin in the Workplace

New York

A New York IT supervisor is facing a possible sentence of up to 15 years in jail for mining bitcoin in the office. The man, identified as Christopher Naples, allegedly had hidden 46 mining rigs in the offices of the Suffolk County Center in Riverhead, New York. According to the investigation, 10 of these rigs had been installed since February, consuming more than $6,000 worth of energy. But given there were 36 more machines, the total energy cost could be far greater.

NY Man Gets Jail Time for Mining in the Office

Christopher Naples, an IT technician for Suffolk County in New York, could spend up to 15 years in jail for mining bitcoin in his offices. According to reports, the man introduced 46 mining machines into the offices of the county, hiding these underneath floorboards. Now, Naples faces charges of grand larceny and computer trespass as well as public corruption.

Prosecutors state the machines spent at least $6,000 worth of power, with the temperature of the rooms where the miners were installed rising 20 degrees, affecting the surrounding server rooms and offices. Timothy D. Sini (the Suffolk County District Attorney) stated that this was the result.

Not only are we spending thousands of dollars on this operation from taxpayers, but it also puts the county’s infrastructure in danger.

County employees also complained about poor AC performance and slow internet. These were resources that were shared by the mining machines in the office.

Stealing power is nothing new

This is not the first time that an employee of a public office has stolen power to mine cryptocurrencies. Similar cases have occurred in many other places. New York City’s Department of Education has cases dating from 2013 and 2014 where employees tried to mine bitcoin with company equipment.

A Federal Reserve employee tried to mine cryptocurrency using one of its servers. That employee, Nicholas Berthaume, was fined $5,000 and spent 12 months on probation. In a press meeting, Sini stressed:

We will not allow county employees to steal taxpayer money or illegally use government resources for personal gain.

Suffolk County Clerk Judith A. Pascale stated that no records of the country had been accessed or altered by the mining activity.

What do you think about Naples stealing power to mine bitcoin in public offices? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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XCN defies Bitcoin and Ethereum slump with 97% spike

Onyxcoin (XCN) has risen 97% in the past 24 hours as altcoins enjoy massive buying pressure. The XCN price bucks the trend that saw Bitcoin and Ethereum down after notable gains a day earlier. Tariffs and other market conditions weigh on investor sentiment. Onyxcoin (XCN) has defied a dip for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and top altcoins…


  • Onyxcoin (XCN) has risen 97% in the past 24 hours as altcoins enjoy massive buying pressure.
  • The XCN price bucks the trend that saw Bitcoin and Ethereum down after notable gains a day earlier.
  • Tariffs and other market conditions weigh on investor sentiment.

Onyxcoin (XCN) has defied a dip for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and top altcoins with an impressive 97% over the past 24 hours.

In a price rally that put it on top of the daily gainers’ list, XCN shot up to an intraday high of $0.017.

The performance bucks the downward pressure that has seen Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) pare gains from a day ago with dips below $80k and $1.5k, respectively.

XCN price performance

The XCN token’s standout performance sees it outpace Flare, Kaspas, and Walrus, among other notable gainers.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, XCN is currently trading at $0.017, with its volume up 1,230%.

XCN chart by CoinMarketCap

The token’s market, though tiny at $531 million, is up 97% and puts Onyxcoin in the top 100 by market cap.

XCN has flipped Floki and CORE, which currently rank 100th and 99th by market cap, respectively.

Onyxcoin’s massive spike comes despite a broader risk market downturn in the past 24 hours.

BTC, ETH, and other coins’ dip has seen the global cryptocurrency market cap drop by 3.9% to $2.52 trillion.

Volume is down 20% to about $127 billion as crypto mirrors losses on Wall Street.

Overall market outlook

Crypto and the stock market rose sharply on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump changed his tariffs stance.

His announcement of a 90-day pause sent risk assets skyrocketing, with Bitcoin’s price breaking to above $82k.

S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial jumped, rising by historic single-day gains.

However, the S&P 500 and Dow opened lower on Thursday and looked to close lower with 3.2% and 2.4 %, respectively.

Dow was down more than 900 points.

On Thursday, Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on China, bringing this to 145%.

After excluding it from the 90-day pause, analysts say the trade war will continue to hurt optimism.

This looks to be the case as stocks sold off despite the latest inflation report that showed CPI dropped to 2.4% against an expected 2.6%.

While this sees many turn to the Federal Reserve for expectations of interest rate cuts, analysts are pointing to “sticky” prices and tariff impact for likely pressure on equities and crypto. Analysts point to a potential bull trap.

Peter Schiff said via a post on X:

“I’ve never seen such a mass selloff of US assets. The US dollar, bonds, and stocks are all getting killed. I can’t remember when the dollar lost 3.5% against the Swiss franc in one day. America’s ride on the global gravy train is about to come to a screeching halt. Buckle up.”


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