An illegal Bitcoin mining operation was discovered in a house in Malaysia, adding to the toll on the country’s power grid and contributing to the trend in electricity theft driven by illicit crypto mining activities.
On Feb. 13, an explosion and smoke at a house in Kuala Lumpur led authorities to uncover an illegal bitcoin mining operation, as reported by Malay Mail. Firefighters responded to the scene after a local resident reported the incident. Upon investigation, they found a room with modified electrical wiring that had caused a fire.
Once the fire was put out, officials discovered several bitcoin mining rigs and related equipment. It was also confirmed that electricity had been illegally tapped for the operation. The authorities have launched an investigation and urged anyone with information to come forward.
Illegal Bitcoin mining, which involves tapping into unauthorized electricity to power computers for solving complex algorithms and earning Bitcoin, has become a growing issue in Malaysia. Earlier in Oct. 2024, the country’s national electricity provider, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, reported losses of more than 440 million ringgit (around $101 million) due to electricity theft. In July 2024, TNB reported that illegal Bitcoin mining cost it $755 million from 2018 to 2023.
The issue of illegal Bitcoin mining is a growing trend in many countries. In Iran, unauthorized crypto mining was responsible for power shortages as the country was struggling with a severe heatwave in the summer 2024. Authorities have discovered 230,000 illegal mining rigs, consuming up to 900 megawatts of electricity—equivalent to the consumption of a province with 1.4 million people. Many of these operations have been found in schools and mosques, which receive subsidized electricity. In May, Venezuela implemented a ban on crypto mining, citing the need to safeguard the nation’s power grid due to the excessive energy consumption caused by mining activities.
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