Iran is banning authorized crypto mining in the country until March 6 in an attempt to save power and avoid blackouts this winter, according to a Bloomberg report.
- The move will free up 209 megawatts of power for use by the country’s households, according to the director of state-run Iran Grid Management Co. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, who was interviewed by state TV.
- The government is also cracking down on illegal mining by both individuals and larger operators, Mashahadi said, nothing that these groups consume more than 600 megawatts of electricity.
- Iran banned all crypto mining this past summer to reduce the burden on the national power grid. An unusually dry spring has left Iran struggling with hydropower shortages.
- The move may crimp Iran’s finances, since the country has been using locally mined cryptocurrency to bolster revenues amid tough international sanctions against it.
Read more: Iranian President Wants to Regulate Crypto ‘as Soon as Possible’
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