Malaysia Fights Bitcoin Mining Power Theft

Malaysian authorities are intensifying their fight against illegal Bitcoin mining operations, which are draining the national power grid. Theyre employing advanced tools like drones and handheld sensors to locate these illicit activities, following a report revealing significant financial losses due to power theft. A special committee has been formed to target these illegal actors, following a major crackdown in May that shut down nearly 2,400 operations and seized 45 mining rigs. Over the past five years, authorities have discovered 14,000 illegal mining operations, resulting in estimated losses of $1.1 billion. While Bitcoin mining is legal in Malaysia, operators often bypass proper power acquisition and tax payments, making power theft a long-standing issue. Other Southeast Asian nations are also grappling with similar problems, with Thailand recently busting an $8.6 million Bitcoin mining operation and Hong Kong arresting individuals for siphoning electricity from care homes for the disabled to power their cryptocurrency mining equipment.The Daily News Now! — Every city. Every story. AI-powered. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.