Bitcoin is a very hot commodity these days. The value of a single bitcoin recently topped $12,000. Therefore, it is very easy to see why criminals will go to great lengths to get their hands on as many bitcoins as possible. One of the most common ways that they do this is by setting up illegal bitcoin mining operations. This happens in countries all over the world. A very large bitcoin mining operation that included 33 locations was recently discovered and shut down in Malaysia. These operations are usually discovered the same way. They require the use of a large amount of power. Therefore, it is only a matter of time until a utility company notices.
The Malaysian bitcoin mining operation in question was draining so much power that it resulted in a loss of $760,000 over the past six months. The utility company conducted raids on all of the 33 locations they believed to be involved in the bitcoin mining operation. They were not able to get to 10 of the locations fast enough. The criminals destroyed the evidence before they could get there. The problem is a very big one for power companies in Malaysia and around the world. It requires a lot of power to mine bitcoins. Therefore, criminals are not willing to pay for that power. They usually steal it because paying for it would cost a small fortune.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been given the classification of securities in Malaysia. In a report by Coin Telegraph, the country’s government has kept an open mind about the potential benefits that digital currencies could have for their economy. Therefore, the politicians of the country have not talked about banning it completely like many countries such as China have done. Malaysian officials have said that digital currencies are so new that more info needs to be gathered before a decision can be made about their legality.
It is a surprise that this very large operation to mine bitcoins could be going on for so long without the power company noticing. The amount of power they were using should have sent up some red flags to the people who work there. Apparently these criminals are very good at what they do. New safeguards are being put into place to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future. It remains to be seen how effective they will be at exposing people who are stealing power.
