Bitcoin miners in Iran have moved their operations to religious centers across the country, which receive free energy in the country.
These are not the best of times for cryptominers in Iran. On Tuesday, June 26, 2019, Mahsa Alimardani, a researcher at Oxford University, tweeted an image indicating that cryptocurrency miners in Iran have moved their operations to religious centers across the country, which receive free energy in the country.
According to the post, this move was necessitated by the government's decision to clampdown on the cryptomining sector. The cutoff was reportedly prompted by a surge in cryptocurrency mining in the country, with an official at the Iranian Ministry of Energy blaming the mining sector for a 7 percent increase in the country's energy consumption levels this month alone. To prevent a complete breakdown of its power grid, Iran will now identify miners and revoke their access to power until the government and miners can agree on appropriate energy prices for the industry. Reports have surfaced of the Iranian government seizing more than 1,000 mining devices.