A blast in Bandar Puncak Alam city, Malaysia, has unearthed an illegal Bitcoin mining operation, uncovering another example of crypto-related power theft in the country.
On Tuesday, smoke and flames erupted from a house on Lorong Cekara Purnama, prompting a distress call from a local resident at 11:41 am, local media reported.
After the fire was extinguished 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 adds to Malaysia’s growing problem with crypto-related power theft, a challenge authorities have struggled to address.
In Malaysia, while Bitcoin mining itself isn’t illegal, tampering with electricity supply lines is a crime punishable under Section 37 of the Electricity Supply Act, which can result in fines up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgit ($23,700) and a prison sentence of up to five years.
Authorities have since opened an investigation, seeking information that would lead to an arrest.
The nation’s electricity infrastructure has been repeatedly targeted by miners using excessive electricity. The incident in Bandar Puncak Alam is far from an isolated case across the region.
Just last month, Thai police uncovered a similar mining operation in Chonburi that had stolen an estimated $3 million in electricity, involving over 1,000 mining machines.
Malaysia has experienced roughly $750 million in losses from similar activities between 2018 and 2023, according to some estimates.
Four years ago, authorities confiscated over 1,000 Bitcoin mining rigs in Miri, Sarawak, after miners allegedly siphoned $2 million worth of electricity from the local energy provider.
Malaysian authorities in Miri destroyed 1,069 mining rigs seized in a joint operation with Sarawak Energy, using a steamroller to crush the equipment.
As the price of Bitcoin soared in 2024, now trading at a price of $97,000, as per CoinGecko data, the environmental cost of Bitcoin mining has also surged.
Bitcoin’s mining process consumes vast amounts of energy, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Poland, estimated at 155 TWh to 172 TWh per year, according to researchers.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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