Authorities in Iran have enlisted the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security to combat illegal cryptocurrency mining. Bloomberg, citing the Iranian Students’ News Agency, reports this.
According to media reports, the agency has set up committees across the country to locate unlicensed mining farms. The shortage of electricity was prompted by rising consumption in other sectors and dry weather, which limited hydropower capacity.
State media say the ministry’s principal aides are informants who report on mining centers. In 2021, authorities doubled the bounty for information, Bloomberg reports.
In July 2019, Iran recognised cryptocurrency mining as an industrial activity.
In January 2021, authorities shut down 1,620 illegal mining centers, which in total consumed 250 MW of power.
In April, the Central Bank of Iran allowed banks and other licensed financial institutions to use for paying imports cryptocurrency mined domestically.
Earlier, the Iranian Ministry of Energy warned of penalties for miners using household electricity.