Officials have exposed that over a staggering 95% of Iran’s total crypto mining devices, which works out to approximately 427,000, are in fact operated illegally. This has resulted in plunging Iran’s power stability into chaos.
This shocking exposé of the underground menace, reportedly devastating the national grid and sparking outrage among energy leaders, was made by Akbar Hasan Beklou, CEO of Tehran Province Electricity Distribution Company.
World’s fourth-largest hub for illegal crypto mining devices
Akbar Hasan noted that Iran has unwillingly become the world’s fourth-largest hub for crypto mining devices and a “paradise for illegal miners.”
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The crypto mining devices apparently devour over 1,400 megawatts around the clock. This cripples supply chains and leaves Iranian households in the dark.
Most illicit operators disguise their crypto mining devices as legitimate industrial sites to siphon cheap power, making detection tougher for officials.
“It’s a full-blown crisis,” Beklou stressed, as these hidden operations threaten blackouts and economic turmoil.
Authorities are fighting back with fury.
In Tehran Province alone, 104 unauthorized farms have been raided and shut down, with 1,465 crypto mining devices seized. Now this is power equivalent to nearly 10,000 desperate households.
Hotspots like Pakdasht, Malard, Shahre Qods, and southwestern Tehran’s industrial zones are riddled with secret setups: underground tunnels, fake factories, and fraudulent connections fueling the chaos.
Specialized inspection squads in Iran are currently aggressively dismantling these illegal networks. But the damage keeps mounting, with the electricity grid on the verge of a collapse.
Desperate measures are underway. In August, Iran rolled out a controversial bounty scheme: citizens earn 1 million toman (~$24) per reported unauthorized device, announced by Tavanir CEO Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi. It’s a frantic bid to crowdsource surveillance and curb the epidemic.
Globally, the fallout is glaring. Despite the turmoil, a June CoinLaw report ranks Iran fifth in Bitcoin hashrate at 4.2%, trailing the U.S. (44%), Kazakhstan (12%), Russia (10.5%), and Canada (9%)—with BTC at $110,790.
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But this “success” masks a catastrophic cost, with illegal crypto mining devices bleeding the nation dry.
As crackdowns intensify, Iran seems at a crossroads between innovation and energy nightmare.
