ESEA League admits employee mined Bitcoins off members' systems

ESEA League has said an employee put a code into the league's client software in order to mine Bitcoins off of users computers.

According to earlier reports, the league's administrator and co-owner, Eric Thunberg, said the code was originally an April Fool's joke which it tested on its own accounts. The joke was deemed to not be worth the "potential drama" which would ensure, so they "pulled the plug."

However, co-owner Craig Levine has since told Kotaku that an unnamed employee who was involved in the test took it upon himself to unleash the code "for his own personal," on April 13. This resulted in members reporting damage to their video cards because of the code.

The ESEA is offering those affected free memberships, and has said the employee will be disciplined.

The total value of the Bitcoins pulled from users' computers was around $3,713.55, and ESEA has donated it plus a matching amount to charity.

It has also increased the prize pool for the current season by this amount.

More on Kotaku.