- Malaysia lost RM3.4 billion from 2018 to 2022 due to electricity theft for cryptocurrency mining, according to Deputy Energy Minister Akmal Nasir.
- Authorities are actively seizing illegal crypto miners and focusing on preventing electricity theft while promoting green and renewable energy.
According to a report, the Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir recently pointed out that Malaysia has lost as much as RM3.4 billion, approx. $726 million, from 2018 to last year, due to the theft of electricity supplies for cryptocurrency (bitcoin) mining.
He also emphasized that such illegal activities are detrimental not only to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the largest electricity utility in Malaysia, but also to the citizens and the whole nation.
“The theft of electricity by those who mine cryptocurrency occurs because they believe this activity cannot be detected due to the absence of meters on their premises. However, energy supply companies have various methods to detect unusual energy consumption in an area,” he said.
Since at least August 2019, Malaysian officials have been seizing cryptocurrency miners. And Nasir emphasized that his ministry is focused on stopping electricity theft and increasing the production of green and renewable energy.
Crypto mining, particularly Bitcoin mining, is among the most power-consuming activities. This high energy consumption is primarily due to the computationally intensive process required to solve complex mathematical problems to validate and secure transactions on the blockchain.
In fact, according to the University of Cambridge's Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, worldwide Bitcoin mining used 121.13 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2023.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
