Iranian authorities confiscated about 1,000 bitcoin mining devices

Iranian authorities confiscated about 1,000 ASIC miners located in two buildings of abandoned factories and working on electricity, which subsidized the state.

“We found two mining farms in the abandoned buildings, which in total consumed about 1 MW / h,” said Iranian energy networks official Arash Navab.

The Ministry of Energy reported that due to the use of mining devices, the overall energy consumption level has increased by 7% over the last month. The ministry also noted that the use of such equipment is not encouraged by the Iranian government.

Earlier, Iranian Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri said that the energy used by miners should be paid at regular rates, and not subsidized by the government. In addition, the Iranian authorities have banned the import of “energy-intensive mining devices” into the country.

In addition, due to concerns about money laundering, the Central Bank of Iran last year banned local regulated financial institutions from working with cryptocurrencies.