Southeast Asia's Crypto Miners Drain Power Grids
Across Southeast Asia, cryptocurrency mining operations are straining national grids by stealing vast amounts of electricity. This has led governments in the region to question whether the economic benefits of crypto mining outweigh its strain on power networks.
Last week's raid in Malaysia exposed a link between cryptocurrency mining and organized crime. In Johor state, police arrested three suspects and seized computers, routers, and vehicles used to mine Bitcoin. The syndicate bypassed electricity meters, resulting in estimated losses of €14,500 ($16,600) in about a month.
Between 2020 and 2025, national utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) identified almost 14,000 premises linked to electricity theft for cryptocurrency mining. Its cumulative losses reached around €1.1 billion. Recorded cases of such theft increased from 610 in 2018 to 2,397 in 2024.
Crypto mining is not inherently criminal, but authorities are finding links between illegal crypto mining, online gambling, money laundering, and Southeast Asia's industrial-scale cyber scam networks. In Thailand, investigators dismantled three major illegal crypto mining networks, seizing more than 6,390 machines and estimating losses to the Provincial Electricity Authority at more than €24.9 million.