Iran has started offering $20 rewards to report illegal crypto miners amid severe power shortages disrupting the country’s electricity grid.
Iran is now offering rewards of $20 to the public for reporting illegal crypto mining activities as the country faces severe power shortages exacerbated by an intense heatwave and energy crisis.
According to an Iran International report, Iranian authorities have introduced a reward of around $20 for reports of illegal crypto mining equipment in a move that is expected to curb the impact of unregulated activities, which have significantly disrupted the national power grid.
The report notes that Iran is experiencing its most severe heatwave in 50 years, leading to widespread power outages and a strain on industrial production. The head of Iran’s state electricity company, Tavanir, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, has highlighted that unauthorized mining operations are further straining the already overstretched power infrastructure.
“Opportunistic individuals have been exploiting subsidized electricity and public networks to mine cryptocurrencies without proper authorization. This unauthorized mining has led to an abnormal surge in electricity consumption, causing significant disruptions and problems within the country’s power grid.”
Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi
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Mashhadi noted that more than 230,000 illegal mining devices, consuming 800 to 900 MW of electricity, have been identified so far, adding that the electricity consumption from these devices equates to that of the Markazi Province and would require the construction of a new 1,300-MW power plant to replace.
In addition to these measures, Iranian intelligence services also targeted over 9,000 accounts belonging to 454 individuals involved in illicit trading since 2022, the report notes.
In early May, U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King called for a detailed investigation into potential connections between Iranian crypto mining and the bypassing of U.S. sanctions. They allege that mined crypto may be used to bypass sanctions and for funding terrorist groups like Hezbollah as well as contributing to Iran’s military actions.
Read more: OFAC sanctions entities behind Iran’s digital currency program
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