Malaysia's cryptocurrency mining industry is ushering in a period of explosive growth. According to the latest survey by the Malaysian Blockchain Association, the country's crypto mining market is expected to soar from US$2.44 billion in 2024 to US$5.13 billion in 2025, a growth rate of 110%. This staggering statistic puts Malaysia firmly in the 7th-8th place in the global Bitcoin hashrate contribution ranking, with a hash rate of 2.5%-3% of the global total.

However, there are severe challenges behind the rapid development of the industry. From 2020 to 2024, the loss of electricity theft caused by illegal mining activities by the Malaysian national power company reached as high as $104.2 million. Some miners even used electricity from religious sites as a cover for illegal mining. To address this issue, the government is implementing a series of regulatory measures, including the introduction of a special mining license system, a green energy tax program, and mining standards compliant with Islamic law, aiming to bring illegal mining activities into a legal regulatory framework.

Although the regulatory environment is not yet fully clear, Malaysia has become a popular destination for global miners due to its young population (more than 60% of the population under the age of 35) and relatively low energy costs. A number of international investment institutions have begun to invest in local mining facilities on a large scale, and the number of users of local crypto trading platforms has also shown a rapid growth trend.

The most noteworthy aspect is that Malaysia is exploring the establishment of the world's first Sharia-compliant crypto mining framework, combining traditional Islamic financial ethics with the modern crypto economy by prohibiting usury, implementing environmental standards, and establishing profit-sharing mechanisms. This innovative attempt could pave the way for a new development model for the crypto assets market in Islamic countries around the world, with a potentially huge market size.

Faced with this rapidly developing industry, the Malaysian government is striving to find a balance between promoting innovation and strengthening regulation to achieve the sustainable development of the crypto mining industry.