"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 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."
"When Halliburton arrived at the Rosewood Hotel, he found Even and Maxim perched in a booth. They struck him as playboy, high-roller types-particularly Maxim, who wore a tan three-piece suit and had a highly manicured look, his long dark hair parted down the middle. A Rolex protruded from the cuff of his sleeve. Over a three-course lunch-ceviche with a roe garnish, Chilean sea bass, and cherry cake-they discussed the contours of the deal and traded details about their respective backgrounds."
Sophisticated crypto scams are on the rise. A bitcoin mining executive, Kent Halliburton, found himself in Amsterdam holding an envelope with €10,000 after meeting representatives of a wealthy Monaco-based family. Halliburton cofounded Sazmining, which operates bitcoin mining hardware for clients across Norway, Paraguay, Ethiopia, and the United States under a mining-as-a-service model. The family office offered to buy hundreds of mining rigs—about $4 million—to install at a facility under construction in Ethiopia and requested an in-person meeting. At the Rosewood Hotel, two representatives presented lavish, high-roller demeanors and discussed the deal over a three-course lunch.
Read at WIRED
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]