Traditionally, thieves target physical or digital currencies, jewelry, or tangible goods like cars.
However, when it comes to cryptocurrency mining, things get a bit strange. According to Bloomberg, local law enforcement in Malaysia is pursuing around 14,000 illegal Bitcoin mining operations that are said to have stolen approximately $1.1 billion worth of electricity over the past five years.
Methods Used by the Police
The police are resorting to drones and even handheld sensors that can detect irregular power usage to catch criminals in the act. This strange cat-and-mouse game reveals how profitable digital token mining can be — at least when the electricity cost comes out of someone else's pocket.
Rising Value and Risks
Bitcoin surged this year, breaking records by climbing above $126,000 in October. Although the currency has significantly lost value since that time, mining has proven to be profitable enough in recent years to make thousands of people risk stealing electricity from the grid for unjust gains.
Illegal mining activities could cause significant damage to the country's grid, in addition to costing Malaysia's state-owned energy company Tenaga Nasional over a billion dollars.
"The risk of allowing such activities is no longer just about theft," says Akmal Nasir, Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transition in Malaysia, who leads a special task force to combat illegal Bitcoin mining, to Bloomberg. "You can actually damage our facilities. This becomes a threat to our system."
Global Impacts
Iran: Last year's rolling blackouts sparked heated debates about the role of illegal Bitcoin mining.
Kuwait: Amid a "major" energy crisis causing power outages, pressures on crypto mining increased earlier this year.
USA: According to a recent report from the University of Cambridge, the US, which has fully embraced the token, accounts for more than 75% of mining activities.
Globally, Bitcoin mining activities consume more electricity each year than a large country, using vast amounts of energy. This occurs despite other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum implementing alternative transaction validation methods that significantly reduce electricity consumption.
Conclusion
Illegal enterprises looking to monetize this trend are springing up across Malaysia, turning abandoned shopping malls and industrial areas into crypto mining fields.
Legal businesses require miners to pay their electricity bills and taxes. However, for many, the benefits of running their hardware on stolen electricity outweigh the risk of getting caught in Malaysia.
