Because Of Stealing Electricity, Malaysia Destroys Rig Of Illegal Bitcoin Mining In Sarawak

Malaysian government, destroy confiscated illegal Bitcoin mining rig. (photo: yuotube screenshot)

JAKARTA - Authorities in Malaysia recently destroyed a Bitcoin mining rig worth more than 1.2 million dollars after the device was confiscated for operating illegally.

In a video posted Saturday, July 17, from local news Dayak Daily, police in the town of Miri on the island of Borneo and the company Sarawak Energy run a mill machine to crush more than 1,069 Bitcoin (BTC) mining devices. The rig was reportedly confiscated from a Malaysian resident who tried to illegally mine cryptocurrency using stolen electricity between February and April.

According to a Friday, July 16 report from the Malaysian newspaper, The Star, the dumping of mining machinery worth around US$1.26 million took place at the Miri district police headquarters. Authorities said three houses in the area had been demolished due to illegal Bitcoin mining. Meanwhile, the power company, Sarawak Energy, claimed to have lost about US$2 million from the operation.

It is not clear why authorities in Malaysia immediately destroyed the miners rather than trying to use some of the parts that were still usable. Officials in Iran, Turkey and other countries where mining is prohibited or restricted have been carrying out raids on illegal crypto mining operations for some time. Incidents are often followed by arrests, fines, and confiscation of rigs.

However, few reports of machines being crushed by milling machines or crushed in such a meticulous manner. Chinese authorities are reported to have auctioned off more than 2,000 rigs in February that had been seized for the same reason.

The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance estimates that Malaysia contributed 3.44% to Bitcoin's total monthly hash rate in April. The country has an annual energy consumption of over 147 terawatt-hours.