Bitcoin Mining Frenzy Turns Iran Into A ‘Paradise For Illegal Miners’ – CEO

Iran’s power grid is under fresh strain as a large-scale boom in Bitcoin mining pushes regulators to hunt down illegal operations , according to statements from local energy officials and recent reports. Cheap, subsidized electricity and covert hookups have turned parts of the country into a “paradise for illegal miners,” Akbar Hasan Beklou, CEO of the Tehran Province Electricity Distribution Company, ￰0￱ Bitcoin Mines Multiply According to Beklou, about 427,000 active mining devices are running across Iran, and more than 95% of them operate without proper ￰1￱ scale of activity is estimated to draw roughly 1,400 megawatts of power round the ￰2￱ numbers, the officials said, have forced energy firms to step up enforcement and carry out raids in several ￰3￱ Tehran Province alone, law enforcement shut down 104 illegal Bitcoin farms in a recent operation and seized between 1,400 and 1,465 ￰4￱ statements from utility executives suggest that when cumulative seizures over multiple years are counted, the total may reach into the hundreds of thousands of ￰5￱ have also said that some operations are well hidden, tucked inside factories or connected through forged industrial ￰6￱ It’s Happening Cheap electricity is the main ￰7￱ set well below market levels make mining more profitable, even when devices run ￰8￱ and trade limits have also pushed some operators to treat crypto as a way to move value beyond standard banking ￰9￱ on reports , both small groups and larger networks have set up rigs to tap into subsidized power supplies, and some farms use industrial connections that are meant for heavy ￰10￱ have described a mixed picture when it comes to enforcement: many illegal farms are being tracked down and dismantled, while other operations may enjoy protection or special ￰11￱ and local sources point to a few entities with ties to state-linked groups that appear to operate at a different scale, complicating uniform ￰12￱ Bitcoin Mining: Crackdown Efforts And Public Pressure The energy ministry and local utilities have promised more raids and new measures to trace illicit ￰13￱ for tip-offs and a push to check industrial meters have been reported.

Still, the problem is large, and action has often followed spikes in blackouts or pressure on the grid rather than a steady, pre-planned ￰14￱ experts warn that unless pricing and enforcement are adjusted, miners will keep trying to find ￰15￱ can be moved ￰16￱ can be hidden in warehouses or hooked to meters that are not regularly ￰17￱ mobility makes the job of regulators much ￰18￱ image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView