According to local media reports, Malaysian energy officials pointed out that "power theft and mining" has become increasingly rampant in the country, causing the country to suffer a cumulative loss of up to 3.4 billion ringgit ($722 million) from 2018 to 2023.
Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, Deputy Minister of Energy Transformation and Public Utilities of Malaysia, said on Wednesday:
Cryptocurrency miners steal electricity because they believe that there are no electricity meters in the premises and will not be discovered. However, energy supply companies actually have many ways to detect abnormal electricity consumption in a certain area.
Akma made the above remarks while attending a disposal ceremony for stolen electrical equipment and uncertified electrical appliances. According to the Malaysian Energy Commission (Suruhanjaya Tenaga), a total of 349 Bitcoin mining machines and 445 power-stealing equipment were destroyed during the ceremony.
Akmal added that in addition to promoting the production of green, renewable energy, combating electricity theft is also a top priority for the department.
According to a report by Bloomberg last month, since China completely banned cryptocurrency mining in 2021, although many miners have migrated to the United States, due to the low electricity and labor costs in Southeast Asian countries, some operators have also poured into Malaysia. , Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and other places to develop mining industries.
According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index (CBECI), as of January 2022, the United States is "the world's largest mining country", accounting for approximately 37.8% of global mining capacity; while Malaysia accounts for 2.5%, ranking in the top 10.
"Electricity theft and mining" is rampant and the country has lost US$722 million in 6 years! Malaysian authorities destroyed 349 mining machines. This article was first published on "Blocker".