Between 2022 and May 2026, Malaysian law enforcement conducted over 3,000 raids across the country, resulting in the seizure of more than 75,000 Bitcoin mining devices. The operation involved the police, the national energy company Tenaga Nasional Berhad, and representatives of local administrations. During these operations, 629 people were detained.
Why has mining become illegal in Malaysia?
It is important to understand that in Malaysia, owning and trading cryptocurrencies is legally permitted. However, mining activity becomes illegal in the presence of a number of violations. The key trigger for the crackdown is electricity theft — unauthorized connection to grids, tampering with meters, and operating equipment without the appropriate licenses. It is these offenses, not the act of mining itself, that have caused such a large-scale campaign.
Scale and consequences
The figure of 75,000 confiscated ASIC miners is impressive. This is equivalent to a whole series of large data centers operating outside the law. Given that the average power consumption of one modern ASIC device is about 3-4 kW, the total load on the power system from these illegal farms could have reached 300 MW — comparable to the consumption of a small town. For Tenaga Nasional Berhad, such losses are a direct blow to financial stability and network reliability.
Expert comment from Cryptalist: This operation is a clear example of how states are adapting to the crypto industry. Malaysia chose not to ban the technology, but to strictly prosecute violations of infrastructure regulations. For miners, this is a signal: legalization of mining is possible, but only with full compliance with energy legislation. In the coming years, we will likely see an increase in the number of such raids in Southeast Asian countries where electricity is subsidized by the state.