Malaysia may be missing a golden opportunity to cash in on the booming cryptocurrency mining industry. A report by the Access Blockchain Association of Malaysia highlighted the country's untapped potential in the $3 billion market — and the internal challenges threatening to hold it back.
What is Malaysia's crypto mining issue?
As reported by TradingView, Malaysia ranks seventh or eighth globally in terms of bitcoin mining hashrate, contributing up to 3% of the total. However, much of this activity is either unregulated or underground. Illegal miners steal vast amounts of electricity to power their rigs. The national utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad said it had over $104 million in losses between 2020 and 2024 due to electricity theft.
Although it has favorable infrastructure — including strong internet and hydropower — Malaysia lacks a regulatory framework specific to crypto mining. This allows illegal miners to operate in the shadows, and the nation misses out on revenue that could be generated by incentivizing mining on metered connections.
Why Malaysia's crypto potential matters now
Cryptocurrency mining is a high-stakes, high-reward industry, estimated to reach over $8 billion by 2034, according to Precedence Research. Countries that get it right can benefit from job creation, infrastructure investment, and new tax revenues.
Malaysia has the location, tech expertise, and green energy resources to thrive in this space. But, according to the TradingView report, a "parallel economy" of illegal miners and vague policies are causing millions in losses.
The issue isn't limited to theft. Legal miners operate in the shadows out of fear of sudden regulatory shifts, cyberattacks, or equipment theft. The lack of legal clarity is also stalling investments from companies that want to avoid bureaucratic gray areas.
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"Formalizing this activity would transform stolen energy into legitimate revenue for TNB and generate taxable income for the government," the TradingView report stated.
The pros and cons of crypto mining
Mining proof-of-work cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin consumes enormous amounts of energy. When that energy comes from dirty sources such as oil and coal, it contributes to more heat-trapping pollution that harms the planet. In regions where grids are already strained, this can also lead to higher electricity prices for everyday consumers.
Still, the crypto industry is beginning to transition toward cleaner operations. A recent Cambridge study found that 52.4% of the energy powering bitcoin mining came from sustainable sources, including 42.6% from renewables such as wind and hydro and 9.8% from nuclear energy. Companies such as Mara Holdings even use wind farms to power mining operations, showing that a cleaner path forward is possible.
That said, ensuring renewable energy used for crypto mining doesn't divert clean power from public or essential services will remain an important policy challenge.
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To follow suit, Malaysia would need to develop a legal framework while enforcing grid protections and incentivizing miners to tap into renewable energy sources. This could help reduce the country's overall pollution footprint while supporting a lucrative crypto economy.
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