Bitcoin miners stole RM4.8 billion in electricity since 2018, says deputy minister
He said the staggering figure highlighted the scale and persistence of such activities despite repeated crackdowns.
"This is not a small number. We must step up efforts to tackle this issue," he said after joining a joint operation involving Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the Energy Commission (ST) and police today.
Akmal Nasrullah said there had been a worrying surge in such cases in tandem with the soaring value of bitcoin.
"In 2023, we recorded 2,399 cases. Up to June this year, we've already logged around 1,800 cases. This spike coincides with bitcoin's price breaching RM500,000 per coin," he said.
Bitcoin is a popular cryptocurrency that is obtained either by purchasing them on the open market or using computers to solve complex algorithms that yield the digital currency. Running these computers is called mining and their vast computing power requires massive amounts of electricity.
At a premises raided today, authorities found 80 mining machines operating around the clock, draining an estimated RM86,000 in electricity per month.
Another location that had been raided eight times prior to today's operation unearthed 38 mining units illegaly drawing RM45,000 in electricity a month.
"The last raid was in May, but they've resumed operations. This is the ninth time this location has been raided," Akmal said.
Overall, the seven premises raided today were estimated to have stolen RM273,679 in electricity a month.
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