Hatten Land Limited, a Southeast Asian developer, revealed that its subsidiary Hatten Edge Pte. Ltd. had reached an agreement with SMI CS Pte. Ltd. to build over 1,000 crypto mining machines in Melaka, Malaysia.
Malaysia is well-known in the Bitcoin mining industry for its low power costs, with business electricity costing around $0.092 per kWh. In the United States, the equivalent is said to be roughly $0.125. According to a survey by Arcane Research, the electrical cost of mining 1 BTC in Malaysia ranges from $10,000 to $20,000 – or even less in some places.
On the other hand, this benefit has resulted in an increase in unlicensed crypto miners siphoning energy for their own purposes. Due to the seriousness of “electricity theft” and the alleged risk of blackouts or even fire accidents, the Malaysian government cracks down hard on such offenders. Authorities crushed over 1,000 crypto mining rigs in 2021, demonstrating their hardliner stance.
On an institutional level, there are now ambitious plans for crypto mining in the country. While Malaysia’s electricity prices are appealing, the country’s tropical climate is a cause for concern. There is no doubt that both crypto enthusiasts and environmentalists will be keeping an eye on the news to see if the Southeast Asian country has a chance of capturing a larger share of the global hash rate share.
That’s all from Malaysia for now.
