News 1
More fertile lands: Singaporean developer to set up over 1000 mining rigs in Malaysia
Posted:
Many might be quarantining at home or living again under lockdown due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. In the crypto sector, however, major travel and building plans are being drawn up.
Crazy Rich Asians
The Southeast Asian developer Hatten Land Limited, announced that its subsidiary Hatten Edge Pte. Ltd. was in an agreement with SMI CS Pte. Ltd., for the construction of over 1,000 crypto mining rigs in Melaka, Malaysia. What’s more, the final number of mining rigs could be even higher.
The official press release stated,
“Pilot phase of the first 50 sets of Crypto Mining rigs to commence operations by end January 2022 and an additional 1,500 Crypto Mining rigs to be delivered and installed from February to March 2022 with the option by SMI to provide an additional 1,000 Crypto Mining rigs in 2022”
Time to Ma-LAY down the law
Malaysia is famous in the Bitcoin mining industry for its relatively cheap power rates, where the price of electricity for businesses is about $0.092 per kWh. Compare this to the USA, where the same is reportedly around $0.125. Meanwhile, the electricity price of mining 1 BTC in Malaysia is between $10,000 and $20,000 – or even lower in some areas – according to a report by Arcane Research.
On the flip side, this perk has led to a surge in unlicensed crypto miners siphoning energy for their own activities. The Malaysian government clamps down hard on such offenders, due to the seriousness of “electricity theft” and the alleged risk of blackouts or even fire accidents. Proving its hardline stance, authorities have crushed over 1,000 crypto mining rigs in 2021.
Now, there are ambitious plans for crypto mining in the country on an institutional level. While Malaysia’s electricity prices are appealing, its tropical climate is a concerning factor. No doubt then, that both crypto watchers and environmentalists will be following the news to see whether the Southeast Asian country has a chance of seizing more of the global hashrate share.
You did “Nasi” that coming
The Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index shows that Malaysia’s hashrate share has fluctuated in the past year, possibly also linked to the high-profile raids on crypto mining equipment.
In August 2021, the country’s share of the average hashrate was 4.59%. If Hatten Land’s plans proceed as expected, a spike might soon show in 2022’s stats.
