Thai officials raided an illegal Bitcoin mine after power outages caused local complaints

Thai authorities just raided an illegal bitcoin mine west of Bangkok on Friday. Upon entering the house, police and officials from the Provincial Electricity Authorities found bitcoin mining rigs, leading authorities to believe that the occupants of the house had been using the house as a bitcoin mine and using power that they didn't pay for.

Authorities also found records that the house was using a huge sum of electricity, but the owners paid for very little of it. It makes sense that the process of mining virtual currencies such as bitcoin would require powerful computers that consume huge amounts of electricity. In Thailand, bitcoin miners are recognized as manufacturers who are required to pay associated tax. This marks the fourth raid the Thai authorities made in 2024.

Illegal Bitcoin mining epidemic

But illegal mining has plagued many Southeast Asia countries for the past few years, with operators exploiting the region's relatively low electricity costs while evading the high energy bills associated with the intensive process of mining cryptocurrencies.

In Malaysia, it was recorded that illegal mining operations have stolen an estimated $723 million worth of electricity between 2018 and 2023. To curb this issue, the Malaysian government has taken drastic measures, including the destruction of over $1.2 million worth of Bitcoin mining rigs that were confiscated for operating illegally.

Thai SEC eases crypto investing restrictions

The SEC of Thailand has recently updated the criteria for investing in digital tokens, easing some restrictions. In a recent meeting, the SEC Committee approved the removal of the investment limit for retail investors in digital tokens backed by real estate or infrastructure. The previous rule dictates that retail investors were only limited to 300,000 baht per offering in asset-backed ICOs.The change is expected to widen the market for a broader range of investors and support the nation's digital asset market development.

The SEC update also requires the establishment of dedicated entities for custodian wallet management. However, these providers must be subsidiaries of publicly listed companies with a track record in secure securities storage.

Thailand needs to strengthen its crypto regulations

Although Thailand has generally been more accommodating towards cryptocurrency activities compared to many of its regional neighbours, this incident highlights the challenges of regulating such a rapidly evolving and technically demanding industry. With some regulations already put in place to protect investors and maintain financial stability, the rise in illegal mining operations indicates a need for stricter enforcement and monitoring. Still, the increase in illegal mining operations suggests that more robust measures might be needed.