Malaysian Cops Bust Underground Bitcoin Mine—Raking in $8K Monthly From 45 Rigs
Cybercops in Malaysia just unplugged a power-hungry operation: a covert Bitcoin mining ring siphoning enough electricity to fund its $8,000 monthly haul. Forty-five rigs hummed away—until the authorities pulled the plug.
Mining ops like this cut corners by bypassing utility bills, but they rarely outrun the law. Another day, another crypto hustle cut short—meanwhile, Wall Street still can’t decide if Bitcoin’s a commodity or a glorified Ponzi scheme.
Illegal Bitcoin mining plagues Southeast Asia
Illegal Bitcoin mining operations, which siphon energy from the national grids, are a growing problem in East and Southeast Asia.
A 2025 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted that international criminal groups operating in the region are attracted to Bitcoin mining as it allows them to circumvent anti-money laundering laws compared to more traditional forms of crime. A Bloomberg report from last year indicated that China’s decision to ban Bitcoin mining in 2021 may have helped to push this type of illegal activity into Southeast Asia.
This trend has had real-world consequences for Malaysia before. In February of this year, an explosion in the Bandar Puncak Alam city, Malaysia, revealed a nine-rig illegal Bitcoin mining operation.
Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, the country’s deputy energy transition and water transformation minister, told Malay Mail in July 2024 that illegal crypto mining has cost the country at least $722 million (RM3.4 billion) in electricity costs between 2018 and 2023.
Neighboring Thailand has also had its fair share of high-profile crypto mining crackdowns, including one involving 1,000 machines earlier this year thought to have stolen $3 million from the nation’s grid.
