Malaysia's Crypto Miner Crackdown Hits 75K Rigs and Counting — Steamrollers Still in the Garage ⚡

Malaysian authorities have seized more than 75,000 cryptocurrency mining machines in over 3,000 raids conducted nationwide between 2022 and May 2026, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar told parliament on Wednesday, according to state news agency Bernama. The operations, coordinated with the Royal Malaysia Police, state utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and local authorities, have also resulted in 629 arrests.

Responding to a question in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of parliament, Shamsul Anuar said the Home Ministry is expanding its enforcement approach, leaning on intelligence gathering and technology to flag likely hotspots before moving in so it can "respond faster and take more precise action." He linked the persistence of illegal mining to strong demand for digital assets and the profits available from volatile token prices, while stressing that potential gains do not excuse crimes such as stealing electricity to cut running costs.

Owning and trading crypto is permitted in Malaysia, though it is not recognized as legal tender, Shamsul Anuar said. Mining crosses into illegality when it relies on "unauthorised electricity connections, tampering with meters, disrupting power supply systems or operating without the required licences," he added. The Securities Commission Malaysia regulates digital assets, while the central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, oversees financial stability, payments and anti-money-laundering compliance.

The campaign focuses on electricity theft rather than crypto policy. Mining rigs run around the clock and draw heavy, constant loads, and operators frequently bypass or tamper with meters to hide consumption, leaving utilities to catch the fraud only when billed and actual usage diverge. In late 2025, Malaysia's energy ministry linked around $1.1 billion in power losses to some 14,000 illegal mining sites uncovered over five years, and established a committee drawing on the finance ministry, Bank Negara and TNB to pursue offenders.

Enforcement has at times been theatrical. Police have on multiple occasions crushed seized rigs with steamrollers, including hundreds of machines destroyed in 2024, around 1,000 in a similar operation in 2021, and 985 rigs worth an estimated RM 1.98 million (roughly $450,000) destroyed on Monday in footage that circulated widely on social media. Malaysia's crackdown mirrors regional efforts, including a multimillion-dollar mining operation dismantled in Thailand and arrests in Hong Kong targeting similar electricity-theft schemes.