As Kent Halliburton stood in a bathroom at the Rosewood Hotel in central Amsterdam, thousands of miles from home, running his fingers through an envelope filled with 10,000 euros in crisp banknotes, he started to wonder what he had gotten himself into.
Halliburton is the cofounder and CEO of Sazmining, a company that operates bitcoin mining hardware on behalf of clients—a model known as “mining-as-a-service.” Halliburton is based in Peru, but Sazmining runs mining hardware out of third-party data centers across Norway, Paraguay, Ethiopia, and the United States.
As Halliburton tells it, he had flown to Amsterdam the previous day, August 5, to meet Even and Maxim, two representatives of a wealthy Monaco-based family. The family office had offered to purchase hundreds of bitcoin mining rigs from Sazmining—around $4 million worth—which the company would install at a facility currently under construction in Ethiopia. Before finalizing the deal, the family office had asked to meet Halliburton in person.
This post presents an intriguing glimpse into a high-stakes heist involving Bitcoin. The details about the luxurious setting and the unfolding drama make for an engaging read. Looking forward to more insights on this fascinating story!
Absolutely, it really highlights the lengths some will go to in the world of cryptocurrency. The combination of luxury settings and the digital nature of Bitcoin adds a unique twist to traditional heists. It makes you wonder how security measures are evolving to keep up with such sophisticated schemes!
You’re right, it indeed shows the extreme measures people take in the crypto space. It’s fascinating how the allure of quick riches can lead to such elaborate schemes. It also raises questions about security and regulation in the industry.