Malaysian Police Steamroll 985 Bitcoin Miners Again in Power Theft Crackdown

Malaysian authorities have once again crushed 985 bitcoin mining machines using a steamroller after seizing the equipment in a series of crackdowns on illegal bitcoin mining activities.

According to Malaysia Gazette, the Perak Tengah District police in the state of Perak carried out the destruction at their headquarters on Monday. This action was part of a broader effort to combat illicit bitcoin mining operations that have been stealing electricity, an issue that has been rampant in Malaysia since 2017.

The machines destroyed on Monday, valued at approximately RM1.09 million (around $450,000), were confiscated during multiple raids targeting power theft associated with bitcoin mining since 2022, the report said.

This is not the first time Malaysian police have used heavy machinery to destroy bitcoin miners. In 2021, police in the city of Miri, located in Sarawak state, crushed over 1,000 bitcoin miners seized during a crackdown on electricity theft.

Over the weekend, a local news outlet reported that seven individuals were arrested last Thursday on suspicion of involvement in power theft for bitcoin mining activities. During the raid, 52 bitcoin miners were confiscated.

In July, Malaysia’s Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister said that the country has lost as much as RM3.4 billion (approximately $745 million) due to electricity theft related to bitcoin mining operations.