Iranian power tool Tavanir promises serious action against unlicensed crypto miners – Mining Bitcoin News

Iran’s state – owned power distribution company, Tavanir, has threatened tougher measures to combat unauthorized crypto mining. These include much higher fines for those who mint digital currencies with subsidized electricity and penalties for government officials involved in mining.

Tavanir raises fines for illegal mining of cryptocurrency

Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company (Tavanir) has adopted new, more stringent measures to prevent crypto-mining operations outside the law. The agency’s spokesman Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi announced that fines for illegal activities in the sector have been increased by 400%. Quoted by the English-language Iranian edition Financial Tribune, he elaborated:

Unlicensed crypto miners have to pay their electricity bills at rates that are four times higher than export prices that are already higher than the subsidized tariffs for households.

Mashhadi also said that first-time offenders will be denied access to subsidized energy, including electricity, natural gas and liquid fuels, for a period of three months after they are identified. And those caught again will be cut off from supply for an entire year, the official added in a statement published on the website of the Iranian Ministry of Energy.

If crypto-mining is detected at facilities owned by state organizations or public institutions, those responsible will face penalties under the law and will be suspended from their government jobs in the Islamic Republic, the report also revealed.

Just like last year, the government in Tehran has decided to limit crypto mining operations, and expects that the electricity deficit will increase during the hot months of the year when consumption for cooling increases. In June, Tavanir ordered licensed miners to shut down operations until the end of the summer. The seasonal ban triggered negative reactions from the local crypto community.

In 2021, power outages and frequent power outages were partly blamed for the increased power consumption for mining – both legal and illegal – and in May, licensed miners were ordered to close. They were allowed to resume operations in September, but were again asked to disconnect their hardware as the cold winter months increased the demand for heating.

Iran legalized cryptocurrency mining as an industrial activity in July 2019. Since then, dozens of companies have applied for a license from the Ministry of Industry and begun minting low-cost coins offered by Iranian power plants.

But since the electricity sold to households is much cheaper, many Iranians have set up makeshift mining installations, which increases the burden on the power generation industry. Iranian authorities have pursued these miners and, according to a report published in May, smashed nearly 7,000 underground crypto farms.

Do you expect the Iranian government to continue to crack down on cryptocurrency recovery? Tell us in the comments section below.

Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a technology expert from Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’ quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” In addition to crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.