Iran says it has destroyed 13,000 cryptomining machines

Iranian authorities announced nearly 13,000 cryptomining machines have been destroyed in the country as part of a clampdown on the use of heavily subsidized electricity for illegal purposes.

News ID: 5966

Date: 09 February 2025 - 08:21

TABNAK, Feb 09: CEO of state electricity company Tavanir said that cryptomining has been a major factor in the overconsumption of electricity in Iran in the past months.

Mostafa Rajabi said that more than 15,000 cryptomining machines had been discovered and confiscated in Iran in the past 10 months.

Rajabi said that the machines were destroyed based on orders issued by the Iranian judicial authorities.

However, the official rejected reports that some foreign embassies in Iran have been using cheap electricity to mine cryptocurrencies, saying that the Energy Ministry has not received any report about the issue.

A  report by the semi-official Fars news agency published last month said that the Dutch embassy in Tehran had been flagged for its excessive electricity usage.

The report stirred debates in social media that the Dutch embassy staff might have been using cheap electricity to mine cryptocurrency.

The clampdown on illegal cryptomining in Iran comes as the country is struggling with a rising demand for electricity that has stretched power plants to the limits, forcing authorities to introduce scheduled power cuts in large cities.

Tavanir estimates show that cryptomining is responsible for nearly 800 megawatts of electricity demand in Iran.

A deputy CEO of the company said on Saturday that each cryptomining machine’s consumption of electricity is the equivalent of the usage of 10 households.

Mohammad Allahdad said that the government will continue to offer cash rewards for any information that leads to the discovery of illegal cryptomining machines in Iran.