2 days ago
Hidden Mexican Crypto Farm Raises Questions About Cartel Funding
Mexican authorities found a hidden building filled with computers in the mountains of Puebla.
The computers were being used to mine cryptocurrency, which is a digital form of money.
Mining requires a great deal of electricity to run and cool the machines.
Investigators are checking whether the operators took electricity from a nearby dam without paying for it.
Experts suspect that a well-funded criminal group may have supported the operation.
They also think criminals could use cryptocurrency to move or disguise illegal money.
However, authorities have not publicly confirmed that a cartel owned the farm.
Three similar farms were found nearby last year.
Experts expect crypto-related crime to keep growing, even as police become better at tracking digital transactions.
Authorities found 300 graphics processing units, 80 medium-voltage terminals and eight satellite antennas at a suspected crypto farm in Puebla.
The site is the fourth similar crypto farm discovered in the area since early last year.
Investigators are examining whether the operation stole electricity from a nearby hydroelectric dam.
Analysts say organized crime groups may be using crypto mining and transfers to launder illicit funds, but cartel involvement has not been confirmed.
Chainalysis estimated that illicit cryptocurrency transactions reached $154 billion in 2025, up from $59 billion the previous year.
- Who
- Mexican authorities, security and cryptocurrency analysts, and suspected operators of the farm.
- What
- Authorities discovered a hidden cryptocurrency-mining operation and are investigating possible electricity theft and links to illicit financial activity.
- Where
- In the Sierra Norte mountains near Tlaola, in Mexico’s Puebla state.
- When
- The farm was reported on September 12; three similar operations were found nearby last year, and this was the fourth discovered in the area since early last year.
- Why
- The operation may have been established to mine cryptocurrency cheaply, possibly using stolen electricity and laundering illicit funds.
Suspected Criminal Financing
Unconfirmed Allegations
Cartel involvement
Suspected Criminal Financing
Security and cryptocurrency analysts said the operation’s scale and technical requirements suggest backing from a well-financed organized-crime group, potentially a major cartel.
Unconfirmed Allegations
Mexican federal prosecutors declined to comment because the investigation is active, and no cartel ownership or involvement has been publicly confirmed.
Electricity use
Suspected Criminal Financing
Experts said stolen electricity would eliminate the largest cost of cryptocurrency mining and make the operation more profitable.
Unconfirmed Allegations
Authorities are investigating possible electricity theft, but the report does not establish that the farm actually took power illegally.
Future crypto crime
Suspected Criminal Financing
Chainalysis said growing cryptocurrency use could push crypto-related crime to new records as digital currencies become more accessible.
Unconfirmed Allegations
The firm also said law-enforcement agencies are becoming better equipped to investigate organized crime through cryptocurrency transactions.
Key facts
- Location
- Sierra Norte region near Tlaola, Puebla, Mexico
- Equipment found
- 300 graphics processing units, 80 medium-voltage terminals and eight satellite antennas
- Nearby discoveries
- Three similar crypto farms were found near a hydroelectric dam last year
- Electricity investigation
- Authorities are examining whether the farm stole power from the nearby dam
- Bitcoin mining cost
- The University of Cambridge estimated the cost of minting one bitcoin at nearly $45,000
- Bitcoin price cited
- Bitcoin was trading at around $78,000 when the report was published
- Illicit crypto transactions
- Chainalysis estimated $154 billion went to illicit cryptocurrency addresses in 2025, compared with $59 billion a year earlier
Quotes
David Saucedo
Mexico-based security analyst
“These locations will have very cheap electricity, or be in an area under the influence of organized crime so they’re able to steal electricity and establish a large infrastructure to mine cryptocurrency”
theprint.in
“Law enforcement agencies are becoming far more equipped to fight organized crime using cryptocurrency”
theprint.in
Sources
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