Malaysia to Shut Down 14,000 Bitcoin Mining Rigs
Key Takeaways
- Malaysia has started operations to shut down 14,000 illegal Bitcoin mining rigs in the country using police force and high-tech drones.
- They use detectors to detect excess thermal heat produced or overuse of electricity.
- According to the state-owned utility company Tenaga Nasional (TNB), illegal mining has caused energy theft of $1.1 billion in Malaysia since 2020.
- Statistics prove that $1.1 billion worth of energy stolen is enough to fund the basic food needs for over 567,000 people for a full year in Malaysia, or to supply electricity for a year to approximately 373,000 average-sized households.
- Shutting down the illegal mining rigs will reduce the peak time pressure and help restore the load balance in Malaysia.
Malaysia has started operations to shut down 14,000 illegal Bitcoin mining rigs in the country. The government has sought the help of the police and is using high-tech drones to locate the illegal mining rigs and shut them down. The drones have special equipment to detect thermal heat over buildings. The police use special detectors to detect overuse of electricity to find out where mining rigs are operating from.
The Malaysian government is taking steps to ban illegal crypto mining because it is using so much energy and electricity, thus causing their shortage. For instance, according to the state-owned utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad TNB), illegal mining has caused energy theft of $1.1 billion in Malaysia since 2020. This will pose a major challenge to the country’s development.
This is not the first time that the Malaysian government has taken such steps. Previously, the government had shut down 2400 illegal mining rigs due to energy theft.
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Benefits of Shutting Down Illegal Mining Rigs
Closing down illegal crypto mining rigs in the country will help save energy worth billions of dollars, which can be used for other purposes. Statistics prove that $1.1 billion worth of energy stolen is enough to fund the basic food needs for over 567,000 people for a full year in Malaysia, or to supply electricity for a year to approximately 373,000 average-sized households.
Shutting down the illegal mining rigs will reduce the peak time pressure and help restore the load balance in Malaysia. This will reduce energy outages in the future. Recovering the stolen energy and preventing further energy thefts will help stabilize the tariffs for the basic users. The government will also be able to meet the energy needs of the common citizens and enhance long-term reliability amidst rising energy demands.
The Bottom Line
Bitcoin mining is not illegal in Malaysia. Mining can be done if the miners register their names and pay the required taxes and fees. Illegal miners operate in order to navigate the cost of fees and taxes. Tracking such illegal mining activities and shutting down the illegal mining rigs are necessary for increasing the credibility of the government and sourcing energy for other worthy projects. Even if the government closes down illegal crypto mining rigs, new rigs will emerge. So continuous monitoring and tracking are necessary.
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Crypto & Blockchain Expert