Due to the unprecedented heat wave that Iran is experiencing this August, power outages are frequent. In order to limit electricity consumption, the country has banned cryptocurrency mining. Iran has even gone further, offering a bounty to anyone who reports cryptocurrency miners.
Iran rewards anyone who reports a cryptocurrency miner
In order to intensify its fight against illegal cryptocurrency mining activities in Iran, The country has decided to encourage its population to denounce. A significant reward will be offered to anyone who reports a cryptocurrency miner.
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According to the authorities, Cryptocurrency mining, particularly Bitcoin (BTC), would seriously disrupt the country's electricity gridIndeed, Iran is experiencing a serious electricity shortage that is paralyzing its entire industry.
This is explained, among other things, by the strong heat wave currently affecting the Persian statethe most important of the last 50 years.
According to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, CEO of Iran's national electricity company Tavanir, Cryptocurrency miners continue to play tricks on authorities as drastic measures have been taken to limit mining activities :
Opportunistic individuals have been exploiting subsidized electricity and public grids to mine cryptocurrencies without proper authorization. This unauthorized mining has led to an abnormal increase in electricity consumption, causing significant disruptions and problems within the country’s electricity grid. […] Therefore, we will award a bonus of 1 million Iranian rials. [environ 22 euros, NDLR] to people who will report any unauthorized cryptocurrency mining equipment.
In a country where the average salary is around 250 euros, such a reward is far from negligible. With this campaign, Iranian authorities are hoping the population will cooperate in their massive crackdown on illegal miners.
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Several hundred thousand devices dedicated to crypto mining have already been seized
So far, More than 230,000 illegal devices dedicated to cryptocurrency miningwith an electricity consumption capacity of 800 to 900 megawatts, have been discovered. As Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi points out, ” Their electricity consumption is equivalent to that of the province of Markazi “, which has nearly 1.5 million inhabitants.
For the leader of Tavanir, ” In order to provide the amount of electricity needed for their operation, the construction of a 1,300 megawatt power plant would be necessary. ” For comparison, This is the power supplied by one of the water reactors of a nuclear power plant, such as Cattenom or Golfech..
The majority of these devices were located in public places, such as mosques or schools, who benefit from free or heavily subsidized electricity from the State.
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In addition, Iran's cryptocurrency policy remains very strict. In 2022, Iran's intelligence ministry said it had blocked more than 9,000 accounts and wallets belonging to 454 people.
These wallets were used to make undeclared cryptocurrency transactions. Based on the exchange rate in effect 2 years ago, The illegal trade carried out amounted to 600,000 billion Iranian rialsor about $2 billion.
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Source: Iran International
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Surprised by the rise of crypto-assets in the late 2010s, I started to closely follow this sector that fascinates me to the highest degree. When I am not in football stadiums, rugby or handball halls, I work on writing relevant articles about cryptocurrencies and more broadly, Web3.
Zacharie Tazrout
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