Malaysia goes after Bitcoin miners for $1.1 billion in stolen electricity

Malaysia goes after Bitcoin miners for stealing $1.1 billion in electricity

Malaysian authorities have intensified the search for a group of Bitcoin miners who stole the equivalent of $1.1 billion in electricity to validate blocks of the market’s largest cryptocurrency. The losses were incurred by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the state-owned electricity company, after mining operations connected directly and without authorization to the infrastructure.

On November 19, the Malaysian government set up a task force bringing together professionals from various sectors: the Ministry of Finance, Bank Negara, and the state electricity company. The team is led by Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation.

The minister emphasized that the damage to the country goes beyond the financial aspect, as illegal mining operations pose risks to Malaysia’s energy infrastructure by causing instability in the power grid.

Additionally, the task force met on the 25th and began discussing a possible total ban on Bitcoin mining activity in Malaysia.

The methods authorities are using to identify power thieves are advanced: drones with thermal cameras to locate unusual heat sources and ground teams with portable sensors capable of detecting atypical electricity consumption patterns.

However, as one side advances, so does the other. Some groups are using shields on their equipment to mask the heat signatures they produce.

Malaysia has already recorded 14,000 illegal Bitcoin mining operations in the past five years. Since October, authorities have identified 3,000 cases of electricity theft linked to cryptocurrency activities.