Malaysian authorities have crushed close to a thousand crypto mining rigs of late. This development comes on the heels of the country-wide regulatory crackdown on electricity heists.
Videos circulated highlighted that a heavy-duty steamroller was used to destroy them. According to the translated version of a local media report, around 1.98 million RM ($450,000) worth of equipment was discarded via this operation.
According to the Perak Tengah District Police Chief Superintendent Hafezul Helmi Hamzah, the rigs were disposed “after receiving instructions from the court.”
He further clarified that all the equipment was related to cases that were resolved already. Specifically, they were associated with raids carried out in Seri Iskandar, a town near Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier this week, authorities arrested seven individuals for conducting Bitcoin mining operations by allegedly stealing electricity.
At the time, Sepang District Police Chief, ACP Wang Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof highlighted that none of the arrested individuals had any prior criminal record. The special operation carried out by the police was to detect illegal Bitcoin mining activities.
On one hand as Malaysia and China continue to remain harsh to miners, while on the other, several countries have been warming up to fill the gaps.
US presidential contender Donald Trump has time and again asserted that President Joe Biden’s hatred of Bitcoin “only helps China, Russia, and the Radical Communist Left.” He recently said that he wants “all the remaining BTC” to be mined in the US.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, officially signed a law earlier this month that legalized crypto mining in Russia.
Only registered Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs have the right to mine in Russia. That being said, individuals who adhere to the consumption limits set by the Russian government will be allowed to mine digital currency without registration.
