There has been a strong opposition to Bitcoin mining in Iran since the government banned mining temporarily last month. Now the Iranian Police reported that they will start taking these new laws seriously.
According to Islamic Public News Agency, the police chief of Tehran said:
“With the efforts of the Tehran Prevention Police, in cooperation with the Tehran Electricity Organization, Iran’s largest currency cryptocurrency farm was discovered in an abandoned factory in the west of Tehran.”
Iran shuts down miners worth 4 percent of the countries electricity
In a further comment to the large mine which the police found just recently, the Islamic Public News Agency said:
“The capital’s senior police official noted that 7,000 miners were discovered in the operation, which according to electrical experts, about 4 percent of the country’s electricity is needed for the operation of these miners, noting that some of these miners have been installed and others are under construction”
Police chief Hossein Rahimi described that Tehran police acquired 7,000 miners across fifty different locations. The Iranian Police has been actively in pursuit of illicit mining since May when Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced, that Iran would put a temporary ban on the practice of Bitcoin farming.
But it’s not just the giant mines which Iranian officials are cracking down on. Back in May, the TehranTimes reported that small household miners can also face hefty fines saying:
“Iranian Energy Ministry’s spokesman for the electricity sector said that those cryptocurrency miners, who use household electricity, will have to pay a heavy fine if identified.”
Final thoughts on current situation of Bitcoin mining in Iran
However, it’s not all doom and gloom for crypto miners in Iran. The President of Iran has announced that he would like to see regulation of cryptocurrency and blockchain. Additionally, the same TehranTimes article reported that the head of Iran’s Thermal PowerPlant Holding Company would seek safer alternatives to source energy for crypto mining saying:
“Iran’s Thermal Power Plant Holding Company (TPPH) announced that his company is going to hold a tender for offering the electricity output of three power plants for cryptocurrency mining.”
Iran was suffering from heavy blackouts that could have been caused by heavy crypto mining. While Iranian Police are focusing heavily on combatting local Bitcoin mining, there is still hope that the country will legalize Bitcoin mining again when better solutions to mining are available.
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Aaron is passionate about blockchain and has been an investor in cryptocurrencies for the past years. He enjoys engaging with other people in the cryptocurrency community online, particularly on Telegram, and learning from experts.
