Iran tightens crypto mining controls as energy grid faces strain
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Iranian authorities have intensified a nationwide crackdown on unlicensed crypto mining, citing daily power losses of roughly 1.4–2.0 gigawatts and reporting large-scale seizures of illicit rigs that officials say are straining the grid.
Energy officials and the state power utility Tavanir have tied the surge in enforcement to repeated blackouts and peak-season demand, with enforcement actions ranging from site raids to cutting power for licensed farms during summer load spikes.
Iran’s power company executives and energy ministry advisers say unauthorized miners—often tapping subsidized electricity—account for a significant share of the deficit. Recent tallies put illegal consumption near 1,400 megawatts on average and as high as 2,000 megawatts at peaks, while authorities claim that well over 200,000 devices have been confiscated in multiyear sweeps. In March, Tavanir’s CEO said 240,000 rigs had been seized over three years, estimating about 800 megawatts of load from that stock alone.
Iran’s power company executives and energy ministry advisers say unauthorized miners—often tapping subsidized electricity—account for a significant share of the deficit. Recent tallies put illegal consumption near 1,400 megawatts on average and as high as 2,000 megawatts at peaks, while authorities claim that well over 200,000 devices have been confiscated in multiyear sweeps. In March, Tavanir’s CEO said 240,000 rigs had been seized over three years, estimating about 800 megawatts of load from that stock alone.
Enforcement has targeted both industrial and residential clusters. Officials have previously offered public bounties for tip-offs, underscoring how pervasive household-level setups have become alongside larger clandestine farms. The utility has also ordered temporary shutdowns for all 100-plus licensed centers during extreme heat to stabilize the system, signaling that legal operators are not insulated from grid protection measures.
Iran’s mining footprint is large in absolute terms but concentrated in unauthorized activity. Some estimates suggest more than 90% of active devices operate without permits, a pattern that helps explain the gap between official license rolls and real-world load on distribution networks. Local coverage adds that public frustration over blackouts has grown as bitcoin prices rallied this year, incentivizing new gray-market deployments despite prior bans.
For miners and market desks, the read-through is operational rather than directional. Iran-specific enforcement can shuffle regional hash supply and raise operating risk premia on subsidized-power narratives, but global hash rate dispersion and hosting in North America, Central Asia, and the GCC limit lasting network-level impact.
Iran’s mining footprint is large in absolute terms but concentrated in unauthorized activity. Some estimates suggest more than 90% of active devices operate without permits, a pattern that helps explain the gap between official license rolls and real-world load on distribution networks. Local coverage adds that public frustration over blackouts has grown as bitcoin prices rallied this year, incentivizing new gray-market deployments despite prior bans.
For miners and market desks, the read-through is operational rather than directional. Iran-specific enforcement can shuffle regional hash supply and raise operating risk premia on subsidized-power narratives, but global hash rate dispersion and hosting in North America, Central Asia, and the GCC limit lasting network-level impact.
Author
Sebile Fane cut her teeth in blockchain by building tiny NFT experiments with friends in her living room, long before the buzzwords took hold. She’s driven by a curiosity for the human stories behind smart contracts — whether it’s a small-town artist minting her first token or a DAO voting on climate grants — and weaves technical insight with genuine empathy.
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