During the week, the Iranian authorities seized 227 devices for mining cryptocurrency from illegal miners in 14 residential buildings. The total number of equipment confiscated during the fight against unlicensed mining reached 221,390 units, according to the Financial Tribune.
In total, inspectors from the state energy company Tavanir identified and dismantled 5,756 farms.
Iran legalized mining in 2019. However, for legally operating miners, the electricity price is around $ 0.039 per kWh, and the government-subsidized tariff for households is $0.005 per kW/h.
As of October 2021, the Ministry of Industry has issued 30 licenses for mining cryptocurrencies. The total capacity of legalized farms reaches 400 MW.
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According to Tavanir, illegal mining still consumes around 2,000 MW.
In May 2021, the authorities brought intelligence to the fight against illegal mining. The Department of Energy has announced the introduction of consumption penalties for the extraction of electricity cryptocurrency intended for household needs.
The reason was the shortage of electricity. The country has introduced a mining ban until September, even for authorized farms. In the fall, the restrictions were lifted.
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Tavanir warned of possible power outages in the winter due to consumption pressures on the grid, exacerbated by illegal crypto mining.
“The growing demand for electricity from unauthorized miners could cause a power outage this winter, when gas consumption is also at its peak, as happened in the summer,” the company said.