Malaysia Loses Over US $1 B Due to Illegal Crypto-Mining Power Theft
Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Malaysia’s national utility, has suffered more than US $1.1 billion in financial losses from electricity theft tied to illegal cryptocurrency mining between 2020 and August 2025. Authorities uncovered nearly 14,000 premises using tampered meters or bypassed connections to power mining rigs, prompting coordinated raids and enhanced monitoring by multiple public agencies.
Coinccino 
Market Context
The incident highlights a growing challenge for utilities and regulators worldwide: the rising energy demand of cryptocurrency mining operations, and the emerging risks when those operations are unregulated or illicit. As crypto mining becomes more capital-intensive and seeks cheaper power, some operators may resort to unauthorized electricity consumption. For the energy sector, this creates not only direct financial losses but also potential reliability and grid stability risks. From a crypto-asset market perspective, policies and enforcement efforts like Malaysia’s may influence mining cost structures globally, which in turn can affect network economics for coins like Bitcoin.
Technical Details with Attribution
- According to a written reply to Malaysia’s parliament, 13,827 premises were identified as illegally using electricity for mining between 2020 and August 2025, resulting in losses of RM 4.6 billion (~US $1.11 billion).
- Although Malaysia lacks specific laws targeting crypto mining, tampering with meters or bypassing connections falls under the Electricity Supply Act, making such activities criminal.
- TNB has partnered with the police, the communications regulator, anti-corruption agencies and other bodies for joint enforcement operations. Additionally, TNB has deployed smart meters at substations to monitor for abnormal consumption patterns and created a database of flagged premises to assist inspections.
Analyst Perspectives
Analysts view this as a wake-up call for both the energy and crypto industries. On the one hand, utilities are recognising that the rapid growth of mining elevates grid risk and necessitates sharper monitoring and regulation. On the other hand, crypto mining firms may face rising compliance costs, higher scrutiny and potential operational disruption—especially in jurisdictions where power theft enforcement tightens. Some strategists argue this could lead mining operations to relocate to jurisdictions with cheaper, less regulated power frameworks. Others caution that if unauthorized mining continues unchecked, it could undermine public trust, invite stricter regulation and raise scrutiny on energy-intensive crypto sectors.
Global Impact Note
The Malaysian case has implications beyond its borders. Countries with growing crypto-mining activity and relatively lax utility monitoring may witness similar problems of energy theft and grid strain. For global crypto networks, this adds another dimension to mining cost risk and regulatory exposure. As governments become more attuned to the intersection of digital-asset mining and physical-infrastructure risk, we may see tighter regulation, higher power-tariff scrutiny and greater demand for transparency in mining operations. In turn, this could shift power-sourcing strategies for large-scale miners, accelerate decentralisation of mining hubs and affect the geographic distribution of hash rate globally.
