Cryptocurrency News
A blast in Bandar Puncak Alam city, Malaysia, has uncovered an illegal Bitcoin mining operation, highlighting another instance of cryptocurrency-related power theft in the country.
On Tuesday, smoke and flames emerged from a house on Lorong Cekara Purnama, leading to a distress call from a local resident at 11:41 am, as reported by local media.
After the fire was put out at 4:45 pm, investigators found a sophisticated illegal setup: nine Bitcoin mining rigs, blower fans, and a D-link router—all connected to an unauthorized power supply.
The illegal mining setup contributes to Malaysia’s escalating issue with crypto-related power theft, a problem that authorities have been struggling to tackle.
In Malaysia, while Bitcoin mining itself isn’t illegal, tampering with electricity supply lines is a punishable crime under Section 37 of the Electricity Supply Act, with fines of up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgit ($23,700) and a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Authorities have launched an investigation to gather information that could lead to an arrest.
The nation’s electricity infrastructure has been targeted multiple times by miners consuming excessive electricity, with the Bandar Puncak Alam incident being just one example in the region.
Recently, Thai police uncovered a similar mining operation in Chonburi that had illicitly used an estimated $3 million in electricity, involving over 1,000 mining machines.
Estimates suggest that Malaysia has incurred losses of around $750 million from such activities between 2018 and 2023.
Four years ago, authorities seized over 1,000 Bitcoin mining rigs in Miri, Sarawak, after miners allegedly stole $2 million worth of electricity from the local energy provider.
Malaysian authorities in Miri destroyed 1,069 seized mining rigs in collaboration with Sarawak Energy, using a steamroller to crush the equipment.
As the price of Bitcoin surged in 2024, now trading at $97,000, the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining has also risen.
The mining process of Bitcoin consumes significant amounts of energy, equivalent to Poland’s annual electricity consumption, estimated at 155 TWh to 172 TWh per year, as indicated by researchers.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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