PANews reported on August 21 that according to Decrypt, Malaysian authorities used heavy road rollers to destroy 985 Bitcoin mining equipment in a nationwide crackdown on electricity theft. The operation was led by the Perak State Police Headquarters and destroyed equipment worth about RM1.98 million (about US$450,000). In recent years, Malaysia has suffered serious losses from electricity theft related to cryptocurrency mining. According to reports, the total amount of electricity theft in the past five years has reached RM3.4 billion (about US$776 million). The crushing operation is part of a series of raids to crack down on illegal Bitcoin mining activities involving electricity theft. In 2021, Malaysia also destroyed 1,069 mining equipment in a similar manner.

Malaysian authorities have arrested seven suspects for allegedly stealing electricity to mine bitcoin, Reuters reported on Monday.