Claim by Deputy of Tavanir: 'Identification of 13,000 Illegal Miners' Concurrent with Bitcoin Price Surge

A Tavanir official reported on Wednesday, January 30, that the discovery of 'illegal miners' has increased alongside the rise in Bitcoin prices, stating that over 13,000 'illegal' mining devices have been identified from the beginning of the year until the end of January. According to the state news agency ILNA, Mohammad Allahdad, the Deputy for Transmission and Foreign Trade of this company, also claimed that these illegal centers consume 'about 1000 megawatts of the country's electricity illegally.' A 'miner' is a device used for cryptocurrency mining that confirms transactions through complex calculations and receives rewards. These devices have high processing power and consume a lot of electricity, which is why unauthorized use of them puts significant pressure on the power grid. Allahdad emphasized that each miner consumes between 2 to 4 kilowatts and that unauthorized devices use the public electricity network without permission, harming consumers. He stated that each mining device, due to its 24-hour operation, consumes the equivalent electricity of 10 households. He added that 'these centers contribute between 10 to 20 percent to the imbalance in the power grid due to the lack of control over the amount and timing of consumption.' Regarding reports of unusual electricity consumption in certain places, including an embassy, mosques, and schools, the deputy stated that there is a possibility of unauthorized miners being used anywhere, and Tavanir is seriously addressing these violations. Allahdad also announced the 'launch of an SMS system for receiving public reports' and stated that 'reporters will receive a reward of one million tomans for each identified miner, up to a maximum of 50 million tomans.' According to this report, statistics indicate that over 4 billion tomans in rewards have been paid to reporters in the last three months. Allahdad emphasized that identifying the owner of the device, determining the place of activity, and registering a tracking code are among the legal conditions for this activity. The Tavanir deputy stated that 'if these requirements are not met, the activities of cryptocurrency mining centers will be considered illegal and will face legal actions.' Previously, Reuters reported that various factors such as mismanagement, reduced energy reserves, ongoing drought, budget deficits, and sanctions due to the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities likely play a role in power outages, and some suspect that cryptocurrency mining has also contributed to this issue. According to this report, the value of Bitcoin reached its highest point after Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election. This increase in Bitcoin prices has led some, according to the Associated Press, to suspect that organized cryptocurrency mining, due to its significant electricity consumption, has played a role in the recent power outages in Iran. Additionally, some social media users reacted to the electricity rationing, which the Islamic Republic government has called 'the beginning of planned blackouts,' emphasizing that these outages have followed the rise in Bitcoin prices and are intended to allocate electricity for the operation of cryptocurrency mining farms.