Malaysian Police destroy 985 Bitcoin Mining Rigs with Steamrollers amid Electricity theft crackdown
Malaysian police have reportedly destroyed 985 Bitcoin mining rigs with a steamroller in a major electricity theft crackdown.
Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Perak tengah melupuskan 985 peralatan yang digunakan dalam kegiatan perlombongan Bitcoin dianggarkan bernilai RM1.98, pada Isnin.#IPDPerak #Lupus #bitcoin
— Malaysia Gazette (@MalaysiaGazette) August 19, 2024
Video: Amirrul Rabbani Rashid pic.twitter.com/kEgdqTopCH
According to a post by the Malaysia Gazette, the Perak Tengah district police, acting on a court's orders, used a steamroller to smash the rigs. During enforcement operations that took place between 2022 and this past April, the machines were taken.
The authorities' latest alert and enforcement actions came at the same time as a broader drive to combat power theft issues related to bitcoin miners. Seven people were reportedly arrested last week for allegedly participating in bitcoin mining activities linked to electricity theft, according to the Sepang district police.
In January 2022, in a significant effort to combat electricity theft, Malaysian authorities are said to have confiscated and shut down 1720 B720 bitcoin mining machines. After examining 75 locations throughout the district, the Malaysian Police closed down thousands of bitcoin mining operations and confiscated them in response to public complaints. Thirty of the seventy-five locations were discovered to be engaging in illicit bitcoin mining operations and stealing electricity intended for domestic use. This is similar to what was reported in July 2021 by the Malaysian National News Agency. The Malaysian authorities seized and streamrolled 1,069 bitcoin mining devices. The miners were also using these machines to steal electricity.
Cryptocurrency miners move from China to Southeast Asian Countries
China used to be the leader in Bitcoin mining, which is the practice of exchanging new tokens for computer power used to crack encryption puzzles. Based on data collected by Cambridge University, it made up approximately 75% of all activity globally in 2019. But the industry collapsed when the Chinese government said that any cryptocurrency-related transaction would be regarded as illegal money laundering.
Since China prohibited all cryptocurrency mining in 2021, the industry has shifted its operations abroad, first to the United States and then to Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, and Thailand.
As of January 2022, data from Cambridge University showed that the US was leading the world in hashrate—the amount of processing power used to process transactions on the Bitcoin network.
Southeast Asian countries are currently rising in the rankings as well. According to the Cambridge data, Malaysia contributed 2.5 percent of the world's hashrate, placing it in the top ten countries. The competitive electricity prices, skilled labor, and pre-existing infrastructure of Southeast Asian nations are factors that draw in miners.
The energy and natural resources minister of Southeast Asian country Malaysia at the time, Takiyuddin Hassan, estimated that as of early 2022, electricity theft by Bitcoin miners had cost the country RM2.3 billion (S$743.2 million) and was still rising.
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