![“In addition to losing their devices, [participants] must compensate for any damage to the national grid caused by their illegal activities.”](https://www.thecooldown.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/image-recMX5WbKhu940KWl.jpg?w=1920&h=800)
Amid an energy crisis, the Islamic Republic of Iran has banned the advertisement of cryptocurrency mining machines.
The "unlawful operations" of miners have impacted the country's electric grid, which has been subject to brownouts and blackouts in recent months, TVC News reported in December. A letter from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology to online retailers didn't name mining machines but referred to "high-consumption goods."
"The ministry also called for removing advertisements for training cryptocurrency mining devices and high-energy filament bulbs," the news outlet stated. The letter was sent to Digikala, Snapp, Divar, and other online marketplaces.
Illegal mining operations were blamed for rolling blackouts in Tehran at the end of last year. TVC News noted that miners have been rooted out in other cities as well. Over the last three years, 9,261 crypto mining farms with 265,433 mining hardware units have been discovered, per the outlet.
"In addition to losing their devices, miners must compensate for any damage to the national grid caused by their illegal activities," it reported.
Crypto mining has been sanctioned by the Iranian government since 2019, according to the story. Operators require a license from the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, and their equipment must be efficient and approved by the National Standards Organization.
The problem is that they are charged export rates for their electricity usage; the illegal crypto miners mask their operations and use power that is available at subsidized rates or even free to some users in Iran, as The Associated Press reported in December.
Russia, experiencing a similar issue with an overburdened grid, just instituted a six-year ban on crypto mining in many regions. Illegal actors there also take advantage of cheap electricity, reportedly running their power-hungry rigs in "gray zones" that lack government oversight.
These situations are especially concerning in winter because of the cascading effects they can have on essential heat and power in frigid conditions. Iran, for example, had to cut gas service to either people's homes or power plants, according to The New York Times.
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The country's legal miners are not allowed to operate during peak consumption periods, TVC News reported, but they can use generators and renewable energy to supplement their power needs.
"Tavanir, Iran's Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company, has urged courts to take legal and criminal action against cryptocurrency mining, citing the damage mining equipment inflicts on the country's electricity network," the news outlet stated.
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