Authorities in Iran have reportedly seized 7,000 block reward mining machines at an illegal mining farm. This is the largest haul of mining machines in Iran and comes at a time when the country has implemented a ban on the miners due to a low power supply for the entire summer. As a result, the police have been cracking down on the miners, who are cited as the reason behind recent power outages in the Middle Eastern country.
Crypto miners are blamed for frequent power outages in Iran.
Iran earned its name as a digital currency block reward mining hub and has continued to grow, with the country attracting miners due to its low power rates. However, this relationship got bitter this year after the country started to experience frequent power outages. As reported earlier in May, President Hassan Rouhani announced that the ban would last until at least September 22. Rouhani said illegal miners in the country consume more than six times more energy than legal crypto miners.
Iran and China are cracking down on crypto miners.
According to a recent report, police in the capital Tehran have seized the 7,000 miners from “an abandoned factory in the west of the capital.” Citing the state news agency IRNA, the report did not mention if arrests were made during the raid. Iran’s temporary ban on the crypto mining industry comes at a time when China is stamping out its miners. The Chinese government has blamed crypto miners for adding to the country’s carbon footprint, which has become the source of global concern in recent years. In 2019, China contributed 27% to global emissions, almost three times that of the U.S. at second place.
