Malaysia loses over $1B in power due to crypto mining

Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, Feb. 14, 2018. Photo by Reuters

In a report to the Parliament, PETRA said that the Malaysia’s state electric utility provider Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) had detected 13,827 establishments suspected of being illegal cryptocurrency mining sites.

In Malaysia, cryptocurrency mining is not considered illegal, but establishments must comply with government’s regulations, including registration, environmental impact assessments and energy efficiency controls.

TNB created a database of information on owners and tenants suspected of stealing electricity to operate bitcoin mining farms and is working with law enforcement agencies to prevent illegal mining operations.

Meanwhile, Malaysian police have stepped up their crackdown, with several raids carried out on suspected sites across the country since January. Two weeks ago, police arrested eight people in the north of Malaysia and seized various types of equipment and vehicles used for illegal cryptocurrency mining.