A Bitcoin mining operation in Ratchaburi, Thailand, was raided by authorities after the area experienced unexplained power outages for a month. The raid revealed that the illegal mining facility was likely the cause of the outages.
Raid uncovers Bitcoin mine in Ratchaburi
Ratchaburi is a city west of Bangkok in Thailand. After residents complained about constant power outages, authorities there blew up an illegal Bitcoin mining facility.
The South China Morning Post reported that the raid took place on August 23 and found evidence that illegal mining activities were likely responsible for the months-long power outages in the region.
Power outages in mid-July triggered investigations
Starting in mid-July, residents reported unexpected power outages, prompting authorities to launch an investigation.
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and local police were able to narrow down the cause of the power outage to one property after these outages raised concerns.
Upon inspection, it turned out that the house was a Bitcoin mining facility.
Suspected electricity theft by Bitcoin operators
The estate’s extraordinarily high electricity consumption and suspiciously low payments for that electricity were highlighted by Jamnong Chanwong, the district’s chief security officer, who believes the operators may have stolen electricity to keep their operations running.
After renting the apartment for about four months, a company installed bitcoin mining equipment there. Authorities said the biggest power outages occurred around the time when mining operations were likely running at full speed.
However, no arrests were made during the raid and the investigation is still ongoing. The operators allegedly fled after realizing that their actions had attracted the attention of the authorities.
More and more operators in Southeast Asia are engaging in illegal Bitcoin mining, taking advantage of the region’s cheap electricity to avoid the high energy bills associated with laborious Bitcoin mining.
Malaysia loses $723 million through illegal mining
According to Cointelegraph, an estimated $723 million worth of electricity was stolen from legal power plants in Malaysia between 2018 and 2023 through illegal mining activities. The Malaysian government responded with extreme measures, such as confiscating and then destroying over $1.2 million worth of Bitcoin mining equipment used in illegal activities.
This case highlights the difficulty of regulating such a dynamic and technologically complex industry, even though Thailand is often more lenient towards Bitcoin activities than other countries in the region.
The rise in illegal mining underscores the need for stricter measures and controls, even though the Thai government has enacted numerous laws to protect investors and ensure financial stability.
Financial authorities in Thailand have recently adopted a more crypto-friendly regulatory stance, in stark contrast to the illegal operations discovered in Ratchaburi.
Digital tokens backed by real estate or infrastructure projects became available to retail investors in January after Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission lifted restrictions.
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