Criminal networks are using stolen electricity to mine crypto and move funds outside the traditional banking system.
Authorities in Mexico have uncovered a suspected cartel-linked cryptocurrency mining operation.
Police discovered the site in the Sierra Norte region of Puebla, seizing around 300 graphics processing units (GPUs), electrical equipment and satellite infrastructure.
According to Reuters, the facility is the fourth crypto mining site to be uncovered in the area since early 2025.
Although authorities haven’t identified which organisation operated the latest site, security analysts referenced by the publication believe organised crime groups are becoming more sophisticated in their use of crypto infrastructure.
Criminals put on their mining hats
Criminal organisations launder money to hide proceeds from illegal means and make it look legal. Traditional methods include cash businesses, shell companies, property and trade-based schemes.
In recent years, crypto has added another route, allowing funds to be moved across borders quickly and, in some cases, outside traditional banking channels. Mining offers even more benefits because, instead of moving dirty money, criminals can create new wealth.
The process uses computing power to validate transactions on certain blockchain networks, with operators receiving cryptocurrency in return.
However, running large numbers of machines requires significant amounts of electricity, which can make power one of the highest operating costs. It was reported that investigators believe electricity used by the Mexican site was being stolen from infrastructure connected to the nearby Presa de Necaxa hydroelectric dam.
Once assets are generated, they can then be moved through wallets, exchanges and intermediaries, potentially mixed with other funds or converted into other assets. Funds can still be traced after this, but it can add extra stages between the criminal activity and the point where the money enters the wider financial system.
Illicit crypto activity rises
Crypto’s links to financial crime have been one of the main arguments used by critics of the sector, despite the benefits the digital assets provide to mainstream payments and the financial industry.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation‘s (FBI) latest Internet Crime Report recorded 181,565 complaints involving cryptocurrency in 2025, with reported losses reaching $11.37bn, up 22% from the previous year.
Chainalysis also estimates that illicit cryptocurrency addresses received at least $154bn in 2025, an increase of 162% year-on-year. The company said much of the jump was due to sanctioned entities, although activity increased across most categories of crypto crime.
Crypto can appeal to criminal organisations for many of the same reasons it attracts legitimate users. Transactions can move across borders, operate around the clock and don’t always require the same intermediaries involved in mainstream payments.
Chainalysis notes that this can make activity linked to traditional crimes such as drug trafficking difficult to identify from blockchain data, especially when the digital assets are used to move or launder proceeds generated elsewhere.
Criminals have also adopted stablecoins in recent years, accounting for 84% of illicit crypto transaction volume in 2025, according to Chainalysis.
Unlike assets such as Bitcoin, stablecoins maintain a steady value by being linked to currencies such as the US dollar, which can make them useful for criminals who want to move funds without taking on price volatility.
Transactions on public blockchains can be followed, giving law enforcement opportunities to trace funds between wallets and identify where they eventually reach exchanges or other services.
Chainalysis has highlighted that transparency is one of the main advantages investigators have when following illicit flows.
