Iran Orders Ban on Crytocurrency Mining to Prevent Winter Blackouts
On 28th December, it was reported that Iran is banning authorized crypto mining in the country until March 6 to save power and prevent blackouts as winter approaches. The ban on crypto mining is expected to be in place till March 9, 2022.
On 28th December, it was reported that Iran is banning authorized crypto mining in the country until March 6 to save power and prevent blackouts as winter approaches. The ban on crypto mining is expected to be in place till March 9, 2022.
According to Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, the director of state-run Iran Grid Management Co., said that this move from the Irani government will save 209 megawatts of power for use by the country’s households.
The daily natural gas demand from Irani household have reached to an unprecedented high of 570 million cubic meters per day for the first time on record. Moreover, the National Iranian Gas Co., announced last week that the country has already maxed out its 800 million cubic meter per day production capacity of natural gas.
Mashhadi said, “The Energy Ministry has been implementing measures since last month to reduce the use of liquid fuels in power plants, including cutting licensed crypto farms’ power supply, turning off lampposts in less risky areas and stringent supervision of consumption.”
Iran is one of the largest crypto mining countries in the world and accounts for 4.5%–7% of the global Bitcoin hash rate. The country put a ban on crypto mining last year as well to reduce burden on national grid as a dry summer left country with shortage of hydropower.
Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi also said that the government is also cracking down on illegal crypto mining by both individuals and larger operators as they consume more than 600 megawatts of electricity in the country for crypto mining.
In late November, local energy authorities announced that they had seized a total of 222,000 mining devices used for illicit mining crypto since the esthablishment of the industry regulations.
