Law enforcement officials use unique method to punish illegal crypto mining

Police in Malaysia used a unique method to combat illegal cryptocurrency mining as part of its countrywide commitment to fighting electricity theft.

What's happening?

As reported by CCN, Perak Tengah district police authorities used a steamroller to crush 985 Bitcoin mining rigs on Aug. 19. The destroyed equipment was worth about 1.98 million Malaysian ringgits ($452,500).

Per CCN, district police chief and superintendent Hafezul Helmi Hamzah told the Malaysian Gazette — which posted a video on social media — that the disposal of the crypto mining rigs follows the country's disposal guidelines for e-waste and solid waste. The method is a strict distinction from other countries like the United States or China, where authorities typically auction off seized goods.

Since 2021, a video of a steamroller crushing millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin mining rigs has gone viral annually.

Hamzah added that he and his team conducted 24 raids in 2022, nine in 2023, and one in 2024 that resulted in the confiscation of the rigs. In July, Malaysian authorities collectively destroyed over 2,022 confiscated items, including Bitcoin mining rigs, worth RM2.2 million ($502,000).

CCN noted that Perak Tengah is just one of many districts in Malaysia where electricity theft for crypto mining has become a problem. Earlier in August, Sepang district police arrested seven suspects for operating Bitcoin mining rigs using stolen electricity.

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Why is this important?

Cryptocurrency mining is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of computing power. The increase in popularity of crypto mining has led to environmental concerns due to the use of dirty energy to source massive amounts of electricity, thereby contributing to pollution and planet-warming changes to the climate.

While some countries have made efforts to regulate cryptocurrency mining, some crypto enthusiasts ignore those policies by resorting to illegal electricity theft. Per CCN, Malaysia's deputy energy and water transformation minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said in July that the country lost at least $722 million in electricity thefts linked to crypto mining over the last six years.

What's being done about this?

Malaysia isn't the only country cracking down on cryptocurrency mining.

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Earlier this month, Russia introduced a blanket ban on cryptocurrency mining in more than a dozen regions in the hopes of ending an ongoing economic crisis.

In November, nine covert Bitcoin mining farms in Thailand were forced to cease operations after authorities discovered they were responsible for nearly $300,000 in losses for electricity providers.

These efforts should help deter crypto enthusiasts from utilizing illegal activities to fund their goals.

Meanwhile, many efforts have been underway to improve the rate at which Bitcoin is mined through renewable energy such as solar and wind farms or green hydrogen-powered plants, through professional Bitcoin mining operations. There is both optimism and pessimism that Bitcoin could even help to fund innovation and investment in renewable energy that could make the cryptocurrency a net positive over time, but clear progress is being made either way.

Some estimates put the rate of renewable energy at over 50% of all energy put toward Bitcoin, though operations such as these covert ones in Malaysia remain a problem regardless — as do some large-scale operations in the U.S., such as Greenidge Generation's natural gas Bitcoin plant in New York.