At costs of around $530 per BTC, Venezuela is the cheapest country in the world to mine Bitcoin and Caracas, in particular, has become a mining hub as the citizens struggle to survive.

But no longer. Local media reported yesterday that a new government policy set out in April has been in effect, banning mining equipment to prevent people from abandoning the state currency entirely. Customs authorities have been seizing computer equipment by air and sea in the nationwide crackdown.