Tavanir, one of the leading power companies in Iran, claimed that illegal crypto mining is the major reason behind the nation’s power shortages.
But Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade immediately countered the power company’s claims, saying they were untrue and baseless.
Alireza Hadi, Iran’s ministry director of investment and planning, said that the figures announced by Tavanir are exaggerated.
According to Tavanir’s claim, the illegal mining activities in Iran are consuming 2,000 megawatts of power. But Hadi questioned this claim and said that if the figures were ever true, it means that illegal miners are using a total of 3 million pieces of crypto mining equipment, which is very unlikely.
Who’s to blame?
“Unauthorized miners are the main culprits behind the power outages in recent months. We would have had 80% less blackouts if miners had halted their activities,” Tavanir said.
Cryptomining activities are legal in Iran, that is why Tavarin is aiming the blame on crypto miners that don’t have licenses to operate.
The power company also claimed to have shut down more than 5,000 mining farm facilities and seized 213,000 unauthorized mining hardware that consumed 850 megawatts.
The Islamic republic currently has 56 registered mining farms that collectively consume 400 megawatts, which is miles away from causing disruption to the country’s power system. This year, the government has allowed 126,000 pieces of crypto mining equipment to operate, which consumes 195 megawatts when they are at full capacity.
Tavanir’s own crackdown
Thanks to the help of whistleblowers, Tavanir was able to shut down 1,100 crypto mining facilities that don’t have any licenses. Whistleblowers are awarded 100 million rials ($480) for their valuable information.
Along with this crackdown, Iranian authorities are reminding crypto miners that they have before the end of the year to register their operations.
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