Crypto crackdown: Crypto crackdown: Malaysian police roll Bitcoin machines

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Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian police found a new way to get rid of more than 1,000 bitcoin mining machines seized in raids – they crushed the devices with a steamroller.

Authorities on the island of Borneo discovered the machines, worth an estimated 5.3 million ringgits ($ 1.25 million), during a crackdown between February and April.

Eight people have been arrested for allegedly stealing the equivalent of $ 2 million worth of electricity to power energy-hungry computers, police say.

“Crypto miners stole electricity,” said Hakemal Hawari, a senior police official in Miri town, where the devices were seized.

“Their actions are dangerous to life and property because they can cause power outages. ”

The 1,069 mining machines were deposited in a parking lot at a police station in Miri last week and crushed with a steamroller.

Six of those arrested were convicted of theft of electricity, jailed for six months and fined.

Cryptocurrency mining – the process by which computers mount new virtual currency and validate transactions – requires large amounts of energy and processing power.

The process typically involves a large number of sophisticated computers that form a specially designed “platform” that performs the complex calculations required to maintain a cryptocurrency network.

Bitcoin mining is common in the Southeast Asian nation, and there are regular reports of police arresting crypto miners and seizing their platforms. While power-hungry, the process can be lucrative, with each bitcoin currently worth over $ 32,000.

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