Iranian authorities confiscated 45,000 ASIC miners that were illegally connected to the state electricity company Tavanir. CoinDesk reports, citing local media.
\n
According to Tavanir, the ASIC miners consumed 95 MWh of electricity at a subsidised price.
\n
Late last week, major Iranian cities experienced widespread power outages. Officials partly linked the outages to cryptocurrency mining and called for a temporary halt to mining.
\n
Tehran-based cryptocurrency researcher Zia Sadr, in a Washington Post refuted the authorities’ claims. He said that miners “have nothing to do with the power outages,” since they account for only a “very small” share of the country’s total electrical capacity. The problem lies in the worn-out equipment of the power plants.
\n
Mining was legalized in Iran in July 2019. However, not all industry participants approved of the proposed tariffs, and they continued to use subsidised electricity.
\n
In July 2020, the government required miners operating in the country to register, disclosing their identity, type and quantity of installed equipment. Authorities allowed power plants to operate with mining centres provided they hold a licence and comply with the established tariffs.
\n
In early 2021, Iranian authorities shut down 1620 illegal centres for cryptocurrency mining, which together consumed 250 MW of power.
\n
Subscribe to ForkLog news on Telegram: ForkLog Feed — the full news feed, ForkLog — the most important news and polls.