Malaysia is literally wiping out thousands of illegal Bitcoin miners

Authorities in Malaysia destroyed over $ 1.2 million worth of bitcoin mining rigs after they were seized for illegal activity.

In a video released today by local news site DayakDaily, police in the town of Miri, Borneo Island and Sarawak Energy arranged a car to power more than 1,069 Bitcoin (BTC) miners. Oil rigs have reportedly been seized from residents of Malaysia who attempted to illegally mine cryptocurrencies using stolen electricity between February and April.

According to a Friday report by the Malaysian newspaper The Star, the disposal of the mining equipment, valued at around 1.26 million US dollars, took place today at Miri District Police Headquarters. Authorities say three homes in the area were destroyed this year due to illegal bitcoin mining, while Sarawak Energy lost about $ 2 million as a result of these operations.

Connected: The Malaysian cryptocurrency miner was caught stealing electricity from the state

It is not clear why the Malaysian authorities would completely destroy the miners instead of trying to get any value out of the parts. Officials in Iran, Turkey and other countries where mining is banned or restricted have been conducting raids on illegal cryptocurrency mining activities for some time, often resulting in monetary losses, arrests, fines and oil rig seizures.

However, there are few, if any, reports of machines being crushed or completely destroyed by steam trucks. Chinese authorities said they auctioned more than 2,000 oil rigs in February, which were seized for similar reasons.

The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance estimates that Malaysia contributed 3.44% of the total monthly hashrate of Bitcoin in April, with the country consuming more than 147 terawatt hours of annual energy.