Malaysian police have cracked-down on illegal bitcoin mining - quite literally.

 

Last week, the Malaysian authorities seized 1,069 rigs used for bitcoin mining and in a show of force deployed a steamroller to crush them all.

 

The crushing of the devices was the result of a joint operation between police and the Sarawak Energy authority.

 

Police said the crackdown came after officers busted a bitcoin mining syndicate which is alleged to have siphoned $2 million worth of electricity from Sarawak Energy.

 

Police said that between February and April this year, officers seized the devices in separate raids carried out on the island of Borneo.

 

 

 

Police estimated the devices have a combined value of $1.26 million. 

 

Police said that the impact the mining had on the local power grid resulted in power fluctuations which caused fires at three properties in the area, with all three properties being burnt to the ground.

 

While crypto mining is not illegal in Malaysia, there are strict laws covering the practice, with people who tap into local power lines subject to fines of 100,000 Malaysian Ringgit and/or up to five years in jail.

 

A total of eight people have been charged following the seizure of the devices and will be jailed for up to eight months, police said.

 

A video of the event, shared by a local news outlet, later went viral on social media.

 

The process of crypto mining in order to create digital currencies such as bitcoin is energy intensive.

 

Crypto mining essentially requires specialised computers to solve complex mathematical equations. 

 

Successfully solving the problem is what generates the new bitcoin token and verifies new transactions.

 

However, a great deal of power is needed to run the computers and devices to generate the new tokens.

 

People mining bitcoin can often try to tap into the local power grid or siphon electricity in order to mine the crypto currency.

 

However, this can often overload local power grids, especially in rural areas.

 

 

 

It must be out of water, I can’t see any steam.

Idiots should have auctioned off the equipment to pay for the stolen electricity, now they will get nothing back.

 

It's a road roller, diesel, not steam. 

8 hours ago, harada said:

It must be out of water, I can’t see any steam.

Showing your age?