Iranian energy company Tavanir Promises to Take Strict Measures against Unlicensed Crypto Miners
The Iranian state-owned distribution company Tavanir has threatened tougher measures to prevent unauthorized mining of cryptocurrencies. These include much higher fines for those who mint digital currencies with subsidized electricity, and fines for government officials engaged in mining. Tavanir Increases Penalties for Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining
The Iranian company for the Production, Transmission and Distribution of Electricity (Tavanir) has adopted new, stricter measures to prevent illegal mining of cryptocurrencies. The representative of the municipal enterprise Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi said that fines for illegal activities in the sector have been increased by 400%. Quoting the English-language Iranian edition of the Financial Tribune, he clarified:
Unlicensed crypto miners must pay their electricity bills at rates four times higher than export rates, which already exceed subsidized tariffs for households.
Mashhadi also said that first-time violators of the rules will be denied access to subsidized energy, including electricity, natural gas and liquid fuels, for three months after their identification. And those that are caught again will be cut off from supplies for a whole year, the official added in a statement published on the website of the Iranian Ministry of Energy.
The report also states that if cryptocurrency mining is detected at facilities belonging to state organizations or public institutions, the perpetrators will be punished in accordance with the law and will be removed from their public positions in the Islamic Republic.
As last year, the government of Tehran decided to limit the production of cryptocurrencies, expecting an increase in the shortage of electricity in the hot months of the year, when energy consumption for cooling increases. In June, Tavanir ordered licensed miners to suspend work until the end of the summer. The seasonal ban caused a negative reaction from the local crypto community.
In 2021, power shortages and frequent power outages were partly attributed to increased energy consumption for mining - both legal and illegal - and last May licensed miners were ordered to shut down. They were allowed to resume work in September, but then ordered to turn off their equipment again, as the cold winter months increased the need for heating.
Iran legalized cryptocurrency mining as an industrial activity in July 2019. Since then, dozens of companies have applied for a license from the Ministry of Industry and started minting coins using cheap energy offered by Iranian power plants.
However, since electricity sold to households is much cheaper, many Iranians have installed improvised mining rigs, which has increased the load on the electricity industry. The Iranian authorities are pursuing these miners and, according to a report published in May, have ruined almost 7,000 underground crypto farms.
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