An Abandoned Factory In Iran Turns Out To Store 7.000 Illegal Bitcoin Mining Machines

Iran confiscates 7,000 illegal mining machines (Al Jazeera)

JAKARTA - As many as 7.000 crypto mining machines operating illegally have been confiscated by Iranian police. Authorities found the Bitcoin mining machine in an abandoned factory located in the western part of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Based on a report from local media IRNA, Iranian authorities have confiscated the 7 thousand crypto mining machines on Tuesday, June 22 yesterday. This incident is the largest mining machine confiscation in Iran.

Cited from Bitcoin News, the authorities, General Hossein Rahimi explained that the crypto mining machine was found in an illegal mining area located in an abandoned factory.

For information, mining or mining Bitcoin in Iran is a legal activity. Therefore, miners must first obtain a license from the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade.

However, the authorities in Iran revealed that many illegal mining activities are still operating in the country. This is evident from a study conducted by Elliptic, a blockchain analytics company.

Data from Elliptic reveals that 4.5 percent of all bitcoin mining in the country uses cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions. On the other hand, Elliptic also explained that crypto mining requires energy equivalent to 10 million barrels of crude oil per year. That is equivalent to 4 percent of the oil Iran exported last year.

In addition, Iran requires miners to sell the Bitcoins they earn to Iran's central bank. The Iranian government uses it to finance imports of goods that the country needs.

The Iranian government has also instructed banks in the country to use Bitcoin obtained from official mining to finance imports.

After the country legalized crypto mining, 4 months later Iran experienced a power outage. Several government officials have accused bitcoin mining activities of increasing electricity use and causing massive power outages.

According to a report from Bitcoin.com, in early June the Iranian government had confiscated 3.000 Bitcoin mining machines in one week. A total of 500 illegal bitcoin mining machines have also been confiscated in Tehran. In addition, the authorities have also closed 183 illegal crypto mining sites with a total of 11.000 mining machines confiscated in the last few months.