The Iranian authorities will improve penalties for the usage of sponsored vitality in crypto mining. The transfer marks one other step within the tightening of mining regulation within the nation that had confronted vitality shortages in recent times.

On April 16, the Tehran Occasionsreported, citing the nation’s Energy Technology, Distribution, and Transmission firm, that the federal government plans to drastically improve the fines charges for the mining operators who use sponsored electrical energy. The corporate’s consultant Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli specified:

“Any use of sponsored electrical energy, supposed for households, industrial, agricultural and business subscribers, for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited.”

In response to Bohlouli, the fines for the usage of sponsored vitality in mining will rise by a minimal of three and a most of 5 instances. A repeated violation may result in revocation of a enterprise’ license and even imprisonment of the offender.

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Cryptocurrency mining operations in Iran are authorized and topic to a licensing course of since 2019. As of January 2020, the Ministry of Trade, Mining and Commerce had issued over 1,000 mining licenses. Resulting from some main challenges to the nation’s vitality grid, resembling drought and decreased rainfall, in Might 2021 Iran’s President Hasan Rouhani introduced a brief moratorium on crypto mining. This cycle repeated itself when the moratorium had been lifted in September 2021 solely to be reinstated in December.