Thailand Authorities Shutdown Bitcoin Mining Operation for Power Theft
Thai authorities raid a large Bitcoin mine An operating company in Chonburi Province was found to have illegally used electricity by tampering with electricity meters. The mine was dismantled on January 9, 2025, causing significant financial losses estimated at hundreds of millions of baht. The mine’s electricity meters were manipulated, causing large amounts of electricity to be consumed at night while functioning normally during the day.
The raid, in partnership with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), resulted in the seizure of nearly 1,000 Bitcoin mining rigs. The identity of the operator remains unknown and an investigation is ongoing.
Bitcoin mining requires power for its high-performance computers, and some miners resort to illegal activities to reduce costs. This incident is not the first in Thailand. Illegal mining operations were previously discovered in 2024, causing local power outages.
Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) is expected to step up efforts to prevent electricity theft, while the CSD will continue to investigate the operation. The global problem of illegal Bitcoin mining is not unique to Thailand, with countries such as Russia dealing with similar incidents, including a 2024 raid in which authorities seized hundreds of mining rigs that were exploiting household electricity bills.
Additionally, Thailand faces growing concerns about cryptocurrency-related crime, including a cross-border fraud network spanning Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar that was recently dismantled in 2024.
However, in November 2024, Binance Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Conlan said that Thailand is one of the exchange’s 20 largest markets in the world, and the country’s cryptocurrency penetration is estimated at 12%, twice the global average. Thailand has also been working to create a cryptocurrency regulatory framework, launching a digital asset regulatory sandbox to encourage cryptocurrency adoption.
