Iranian Court Orders Release of Crypto Mining Machines Captured Years ago

An Iranian court ordered the release of crypto-mining machines which were seized by Iranian authorities in 2021 due to energy concerns.

In late December, 2021, Iran’s total energy consumption increased in winter, due to which regional authorities decided to stop crypto mining operations. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, Chair of the board and managing director of Iran Grid Management Company (Tavanir) confirmed the news surrounding the nation’s plan to shut crypto mining centers with the objective to reduce liquid fuel consumption in power plants in fastened temp decrease. 

Abdolmajid Eshtehadi, the head of Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance said: “Currently some 150,000 crypto mining equipment are held by the OCSSOP (Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Property), a large part of which will be released following judicial rulings. Machines have already been returned.”

According to CNBC, in January 2021, Iranian officials confiscated 50,000 Bitcoin mining machines that were found using subsidized electricity – illegally. The government claimed that 85% of BTC mining was performed unlawfully. Notably, the same year, China banned crypto mining in the mainland and Turkey’s central bank outlawed digital currency usage in the same year. 

Iran’s former President, Hassan Rouhani said that the blackouts in many regions led to the country’s decision to ban the “energy-intensive process.” The Iranian capital of Tehran and other cities also faced regular power shortages. Furthermore in 2021, one of the richest individuals on Earth, Elon Musk decided to suspend the sale of Tesla EV vehicles in BTC, referring to soaring climate changes.

As of November 2021, nations such as China, Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Nepal, Qatar, Tunisia, Bangladesh and Morocco have completely banned cryptocurrency, according to the U.S. Library of Congress. Whereas some nations are focussing on anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, which allows authorities to monitor crypto trades to avoid illegal financial activities. 

Rising concerns

Spokesperson for Iran’s power industry Mr. Mashhadi explains that the ban on crypto mining will be in place until March 6, 2023. The ban will eventually allow the household sector to consume 209 megawatts over their existing share.

Government is taking decisive actions on both, home and large-scale industrial units involved in illegal mining activities. Such illicit operators consumed over 600 megawatts of electricity, accounting for a lion’s share of overall crypto mining in the country, according to Bloomberg. 

Over 7,200 illegal crypto mining farms have been shut down since 2020. In 2021, over 4.5% of worldwide BTC mining, worth nearly $1 billion in Iran itself, according to local media reports. 

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

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