Iran is offering $20 bounty to snitch on illegal crypto miners
Iran’s state power company is offering citizens who expose illegal crypto miners a $20 bounty as the country struggles with power shortages and severe heatwaves.
As reported by Iran International, officials from state-backed electricity firm Tavanir say illegal crypto miners, as well as a 49.7C (121F) heatwave, are causing significant disruptions to the country’s electricity network.
“Opportunistic individuals have been exploiting subsidized electricity and public networks to mine cryptocurrencies without proper authorization,” said Tavanir’s CEO Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi.
To help encourage the public to out illegal miners, Mashahadi announced that “a bounty of one million toman (approximately $23) will be awarded to individuals who report every single unauthorized cryptocurrency mining equipment.”
Read more: Malaysian minister says crypto miners behind $722M electricity theft
According to Iran International, industrial production is facing a crisis as frequent power outages are repeatedly halting operations.
Iran discovered over 230,000 illegal cryptocurrency mining devices according to Tavanir’s CEO. He compared their electricity consumption to that of the Markazi Province saying, “Providing this amount of electricity would require the construction of a 1,300-megawatt power plant.”
Power demand major factor in crypto miner crackdown
Paraguay’s national energy supplier announced in July it had shut down 70 illegal bitcoin mines in the past five years, claiming that illicit crypto mines were stealing $60 million worth of electricity every year.
In that same month, a Malaysian minister claimed illegal crypto miners were responsible for stealing $722 million worth of electricity between 2018 and 2023.
Iran banned crypto mining in 2021 in response to similar power shortages and blackouts but later lifted the ban after the US implemented sanctions against the country.
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