Since March, Iranian authorities have confiscated nearly 10,000 illegal cryptocurrency mining machines. Reports indicate that many of the confiscated crypto mining devices were located in public areas that receive electricity subsidy or free, such as schools and mosques.
Kambiz Nazerian from Tehran Electricity Distribution Company stated Monday that Iranian authorities had discovered and seized 9,404 illegal cryptocurrency mining machines in Tehran since March 21st, local media reported.
He said that inspectors from different areas of Tehran discovered the mining equipment.
Over the past few years, Iranian authorities have frequently announced the discovery in Iran of illegal cryptocurrency mining equipment. Many of these illegal cryptocurrency mining operations were located in public places, such as schools or mosques that receive free or heavily-subsidized power.
Vice minister of Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade Alireza Peymanpak, president of the country’s Trade Promotion Organization, (TPO), stated that the “first official import order” was placed with cryptocurrency. He also said: “By September, the widespread use of smart contracts and cryptocurrencies will be common in foreign trade with targeted countries.”
Last week, Alireza Managhebi (chair of Iran’s Importers Group & Representatives of Foreign Companies) stated that cryptocurrency should have a stable regulatory framework in place to allow them to be used successfully as a payment method for imports.
Ali Salehabadi (the governor of Iran’s central bank) recently stated that cryptocurrencies cannot be purchased, sold, or invested . Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence issued a statement in May stating that it had blocked 9,219 accounts of 545 people due to suspicious cryptocurrency and foreign currency transactions.
