Iran’s government plans to work up penalties for extralegal cryptocurrency mining operations to avoid blackouts
Iran’s government is on track to introduce additional demanding penalties for those cryptocurrency mining operations that operate illicitly, per a report revealed by The Tehran Times.
Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli, a politician at the Ministry of Power Generation, says that unscrupulous offenders could face jail time on high of abundant higher fines.
Mining operations are prohibited from exploitation electricity meant for households and industrial subscribers.
Unauthorized crypto mining exerts additional pressure on the national grid. Iran’s infrastructure is in a very decrepit state when decades of U.S. sanctions.
In December, Asian nation obligatory a ban on cryptocurrency mining for the second time in 2021. The move was meant to forestall blackouts caused by excessive energy consumption whereas releasing up power for households and business subscribers throughout winter.
Prior to that, the Iranian government proclaimed a four-month moratorium on cryptocurrency mining in could. it had been briefly raised in Sept.
The Tehran securities market became entangled during a exceedingly cryptocurrency scandal when an embezzled Bitcoin mining operation was discovered at its headquarters. the top of the exchange had to resign due to backlash.
Last June, Iran seized 7,000 Bitcoin mining machines that were used for illicitly mining Bitcoin at an abandoned manufactory.
( Alex Dovbnya, U.today, 2022 )