Iran intends to increase the penalties for mining cryptocurrency without the appropriate authorization. The government has created a new set of laws that include jail time as well as additional fines for individuals who violate this rule.
According to the law, residents are prohibited from mining cryptocurrencies with subsidized electricity intended for residential and other purposes. This is done to reduce mining operations’ dependence on conventional power generation and distribution methods.
Before any crypto mining activities are permitted in Iran, the necessary approval must be obtained, and failure to do so is punishable by harsher penalties, which may include a prison sentence.
An official with Iran’s Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (Tavanir), Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli, stated that the government was currently in the process of legalizing these rules to crack down on those mining cryptocurrencies in the country without the necessary approval and using subsidized energy.
“Any use of subsidized electricity intended for households, industrial, agricultural, and commercial subscribers for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited,” Khodadadi said.
According to the new law, fines would be increased by at least three to five times. Aside from the aforementioned penalties, the perpetrator may be imprisoned and lose their license to operate in the country.
This may come as a surprise given that the Iranian government was pro-mining when it legalized it as an enterprise in 2019. The Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade had issued at least a thousand cryptocurrency mining permits by the beginning of 2020. To prevent inhabitants from experiencing blackouts during the winter, the government banned cryptocurrency mining in December 2021.
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