American college students are using campus electricity to mine Bitcoin, how crazy!

Cryptocurrency mining has become increasingly common on U.S. college campuses, particularly at schools where electricity is included in tuition.

Joey Dilliha, an 18-year-old freshman at Western Kentucky University, claims that his Bitmain Antminer can earn $30 worth of cryptocurrency each week. "I'm sure a lot of people do this," Joey Dilliha told financial media MarketWatch. "It's a fun, cool, cheap way to mine."

Joey Dilliha bought the mining machine on the well-known shopping website eBay for $250 and has earned back $180 so far.

According to data from cybersecurity company Vectra, about 60% of mining traffic comes from IP addresses and computers in universities. Perhaps because mining requires a lot of electricity, the uninterrupted free electricity supply in university housing has been targeted by students and crypto enthusiasts. Chris Morales, head of security analysis at Vectra:

Students are more likely to mine cryptocurrencies because they don’t have to pay for electricity, which is the main cost of mining.

The total energy consumption of the Bitcoin network is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2 million American households, and each transaction consumes up to 215 kilowatt-hours of electricity. According to Morgan Stanley data, the cost of mining a bitcoin in various states in the United States can range from $3,000 to nearly $10,000, mainly depending on the electricity costs in a specific area.

Some schools have banned the practice. In January, for example, Stanford University warned students that mining “has disrupted systems, led to the misuse of university computing equipment, and caused significant campus power consumption by personally owned mining equipment.” The blog post reads:

According to university regulations, Stanford University resources cannot be used for personal gain. Therefore, community members are prohibited from using university resources (including computing equipment, network services, and electricity) for cryptocurrency mining activities outside of faculty-approved research and courses.

At Western Kentucky University, Joey Dilliha said his mining rig was banned, not because of the electricity it uses, but because of the fire hazard. He said:

I had to turn it off and put a blanket on it when the dorm was under inspection. Our dorm manager liked to come in and discuss mining with me.

Since the bitcoin price surged late last year, college millennials have shown increasing interest in cryptocurrencies. According to new information collected by the Student Loan Report, one in five students reported using student loan money to buy cryptocurrencies.