We’ve seen many reports of other countries cracking down on cryptocurrency. But this weekend, we see one case within our own soil, though to be specific, it is only tangentially related to crypto. A report states that police in Miri, Sarawak flattened over 1000 crypto mining rigs worth about RM5.3 million seized between February and April.

According to Bernama, eight individuals were also arrested for being involved in mining activities using stolen electricity. This would power stolen from Sarawak Energy Berhad, the state’s equivalent of Peninsular’s Tenaga Nasional Berhad. Of the eight, six have been charged and have been fined up to RM8000 and jailed for up to eight months. So to be clear, the crime here is not crypto mining, but the theft of electricity.

The Bernama report states that the seized crypto mining rigs were disposed of at the Miri district headquarters. But Sarawak news portal DayakDaily has got footage of the disposal, which is by steamrolling the seized crypto mining rigs.

It does seem quite wasteful, getting the crypto mining rigs destroyed like that. After all, we’re talking about RM5.3 million’s worth of hardware. Rather than getting literally steamrolled, they could have been put to better use elsewhere, or even auctioned off. Though on the flip side, one can argue that the latter option will lead to more electricity theft.

(Source: Bernama, DayakDaily)