Tavanir, a leading power company, recently blamed illegal cryptocurrency mining activities as the cause of power outages in Iran. But the country’s Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade rubbished the claim.
Based on a report published in the Financial Tribune, the ministry’s director of investment and planning, Alireza Hadi, commented that Tavanir is exaggerating the figures. Tavanir claimed that illegal crypto miners are consuming 2,000 megawatts of power, but this amount is absurd as it would require 3 million hardware pieces to consume this much energy.
Cryptocurrency in Iran
The Iranian government has legalized the mining of cryptocurrency in the country. But Tavanir blames the unregistered illegal miners who are operating away from the government’s field of view. Rajabi Mashhadi, a spokesperson with Tavanir, said that the country of Iran would have 80% fewer power outages if the illegal mining activities are stopped.
The Efforts of Tavanir
The power company also claims to have confiscated 213,000 unregistered hardware pieces that were used for mining illegally and consuming 850 megawatts of power. Tavanir allegedly found and closed down over 5,000 unauthorized mining farms across Iran. In 2020, a group of whistleblowers alerted Tavanir about 1,100 illegal mining farms operating without a license. The power company was quick in shutting them down.
The government of Iran offers 100 million rials ($480) as bounty money to those Iranian civilians who inform the authorities about illegal crypto mining activities. Only registered companies and businesses are allowed to mine for cryptocurrencies. The state authorities had declared a public warning to miners to register their crypto business and tools before the end of 2020.
