A house fire in Bandar Puncak Alam, Malaysia, has led to the discovery of an unauthorized Bitcoin
According to a local media report on February 11, smoke and flames erupted from a residence on Lorong Cekara Purnama, prompting a local to report the emergency at 11:41 AM. Firefighters managed to put out the blaze by 4:45 PM, but what they found inside raised further concerns.
Officials discovered nine Bitcoin mining rigs, several industrial fans, and a D-link router—all connected to an illegally tapped power source. This discovery adds to Malaysia’s ongoing struggle with electricity theft tied to crypto mining.
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Authorities have launched an investigation to track down those responsible for the illegal operation.
Malaysia has dealt with repeated cases of miners bypassing electricity meters to power their machines. Between 2018 and 2023, such activities have reportedly cost the country around $750 million in lost electricity revenue.
One of the largest crackdowns occurred in 2021 in Miri, Sarawak. Officials seized more than 1,000 Bitcoin mining rigs after discovering that operators had illegally used about $2 million worth of electricity.
While mining Bitcoin itself is not against the law, illegally tampering with electricity lines is a criminal offense under Section 37 of the Electricity Supply Act. Violators can face fines of up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgit (about $23,700) and a prison sentence of up to five years.
Meanwhile, authorities in Thailand recently exposed electricity theft used to power Bitcoin mining rigs. How did the case end up? Read the full story.
