Thailand Police Bust Bitcoin Mining Operation Stealing Millions in Power

Thailand’s police have raided a large-scale illegal Bitcoin mining facility in Chon Buri, seizing 996 rigs of computer miners and finding the operation siphoning millions of dollars’ worth of electricity. The joint operation by the Crime Suppression Division and Provincial Electricity Authority targeted a facility operated by JIT Co. on January 8.

Authorities said JIT Co tampered with power meters to run the mining rigs without detection, operating on stolen electricity at night and switching to legal power during the day. While the site had solar panels installed, they were not connected to the mining equipment. The stolen electricity is estimated to have cost the state over $2.88 million (hundreds of millions of baht).

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: $760 Million in Bitcoin Lost Forever in UK Landfill

Mining Bitcoin in Thailand is notoriously expensive, with the cost to mine a single Bitcoin coming in at around $17,930 — 825 times the average monthly electricity bill for a Thai household.

Although the Bangkok Post identified JIT Co. as being linked to the operation, investigators have yet to name suspects, adding that arrest warrants are sought, sources said.

There have been various reports of crypto mining crimes across Southeast Asia. Malaysian authorities estimated the value of the electricity used by crypto mining companies to be about $723 million from 2018 until 2023 – equipment seized by the authorities there usually faces a crushing end.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Bitcoin Freedom Act: A Step Toward Payment Flexibility in Oklahoma

Meanwhile, Thailand is going another direction. The country tests crypto payments as a pilot in Phuket in hopes of luring back foreign tourists. Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra recently called on the government to open up to cryptocurrency if it wanted to be globally competitive.

Sahil Poudel

Copy link