Petaling Jaya: According to Tenaga Nacional Belhad (TNB), power theft through crypto mining can lead to system failures, business disruptions, and repeated interruptions in power supply as fire threats endanger people’s safety. Will be.
“With increased cooperation from the Energy Commission, police and local councils, TNB has detected a total of 1,368 electricity thefts between January and April this year,” the company said. Sun..
Such miners said they were conducting illegal activities at the expense of the safety and reliability of the power supply to the public.
Mining cryptocurrencies in Malaysia is legal, but TNB said it would be illegal for miners to tamper with the meter’s installation or bypass the meter through an illegal connection to steal electricity. ..
Last Thursday, a team from Hilir Perak District Police Headquarters seized 72 Bitcoin mining machines worth RM140,000 at a suspected shophouse used to steal electricity at Jalan Intan 3, Bandar Baru Teluk Intan. Did.
Illegal power connections have consumed enormous loads to mine Bitcoin, jeopardizing the integrity and stability of the region’s power supply.
From 2018 to 2021, Bitcoin mining recorded 7,209 power thefts and previously reported an estimated loss of RM2.3 billion, or 4,545GWh (GWh).
“Cryptographic miners run the system non-stop and consume a lot of energy. It is estimated that Bitcoin machines use 32KWh (kWh) of power in a day. It is on 24 hours a day. It is equivalent to two 1-horsepower air conditioners. Other systems such as cooling systems and lighting also operate non-stop.
“In addition, the network of wiring within the cryptocurrency mining facility puts the building at risk because high-performance computers operate non-stop without proper monitoring.
“This high-risk situation can cause a variety of overload accidents, including supply interruptions, fires on and around the premises, flashovers at TNB equipment or sudden fires,” TNB said. I am.
Aaron Tang, Country Manager for the crypto platform Luno Malaysia, said the mining process includes a global network of computers with specialized techniques to compete to solve math puzzles.
These computers, called “miners,” are basically computers that handle transactions.
“The first Bitcoin miner who solves a puzzle and adds a transaction to the blockchain will be rewarded with a new Bitcoin. When this happens, the process will start over from the beginning until the next puzzle is resolved.
“To do this in a very safe way, these miners need to perform very complex calculations, require a lot of computational power, and as a result, a lot of energy and special processing equipment. “He said.
He said a mining process is needed to distribute more ciphers.
“Cryptography like Bitcoin can be thought of as one global ledger system that records transactions between one person and another. Whenever Bitcoin transactions are processed, someone can think of all transactions. You need to make sure that is recorded correctly and that the ledgers of all systems around the world are in sync, “he said.
Sinegy, a fintech company that develops platforms, tools and services for cryptocurrencies, says it will use application-specific integrated circuit (Asic) miner machines to mine cryptocurrencies. ASIC miners cost over RM10,000 per rig and can consume large amounts of power during the process.
Managing Director Kelvyn Chuah said electricity prices in industrial areas are around RM0.35 sen per KWh, but off-peak prices could drop by as much as 30%. When done properly, this can be a very easy and profitable venture without resorting to theft of electricity.
“We believe that legalizing this type of operation is in the interests of everyone. Mining permits reward well-capitalized entrepreneurs to be ethical. Therefore, it should be issued by the local government.
“This will increase Malaysia’s presence in the global crypto mining industry while preventing the danger of electricity theft and fire,” he said.
