Crypto mining and its challenges
Although Iran has momentarily refrained from legally or officially adopting cryptocurrency and issuing a digital coin like El Salvador and the CAR, it has increasingly supported the industry, albeit in a controlled manner, as a potential revenue source and sanctions-busting apparatus. In August 2019, Iran issued a regulation that recognized crypto mining as a legal economic sector and became the first country to use cryptocurrency as reserves to pay for imports and exports. Based on estimates from the blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, mining in Iran has allowed it to access hundreds of millions of dollars per year to buy imports of authorized goods and bypass sanctions on payments through Iranian financial institutions. Beyond Iran’s government, its citizens have utilized cryptocurrency with greater frequency to earn money and move it out of the country. - https://www.mei.edu/publications/iran-and-cryptocurrency-opportunities-and-obstacles-regime
I also found old article that mining in iran is okay as long the government get the slices
Topic: Mining In Iran (Read 287 times)
I am not sure that the Kurds have the capabilities to engage in mining in the areas where they live in that region, and the idea was only likely to be correct. But according to the same reasoning, I thought that the Kurds in northern Iraq had better living conditions, especially since they live under autonomous rule far from the central government in Baghdad, and they have great resources in the Tikrit region to produce energy sufficient for them to do everything they want. I would not be surprised if one day I discovered that they use it for mining. I don't have accurate data and this is just an assumption.
Things are not as they seem to you. Yes, after the Kurds gained independent self-rule after the invasion of Iraq, they lived a golden period and enjoyed a good life for a few years, but the situation changed and began to deteriorate.There have been major disagreements between Kurdish political parties recently, including over how to share internal revenues from border crossings and taxes, how to manage the oil and gas industry, relations with Baghdad and so on. All this led to the deterioration of the economy and the desire of young people to emigrate outside the country.
Look at this for example:
Quote
particularly as Iraqi Kurdistan experiences a prolonged financial crisis. Since 2014, the region has borne the brunt of extreme fluctuations in oil prices, budget disputes with Iraq’s federal government, the war against Islamic State, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, authorities in Sulaymaniyah had difficulty paying public sector salaries, leaving angry government employees lining up outside distribution centers for cash. Several pensioners died waiting in line to collect benefit payments.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/03/22/iraq-kurdistan-region-democracy-war-invasion-united-states/So I don't think the current conditions there are suitable for working in mining.
Just because the Kurds can practice mining in Syria or Iraq does not mean that they should be allowed to do so in Iran as well. Iran does not intend to legalize the field for fear that the use of cryptocurrencies will become widespread and the results will be difficult to quantify. When crypto is legalized, its uses will not be limited to mining only and will facilitate its use in all other fields, including anti-state activities.
As a resident of this region, I can say that mining in Iraq and Syria is not possible due to the nature of the region raging with wars and the destruction of infrastructure, especially the electricity network, which is the most important element in the mining process.As for the Kurds in northern and eastern Syria, they do not have the ability to supply the areas under their control with sufficient electricity or even water. They are also constantly exposed to bombing and harassment from the Turkish government, which does not want them near its lands. So practically mining there is almost impossible.
I am not sure that the Kurds have the capabilities to engage in mining in the areas where they live in that region, and the idea was only likely to be correct. But according to the same reasoning, I thought that the Kurds in northern Iraq had better living conditions, especially since they live under autonomous rule far from the central government in Baghdad, and they have great resources in the Tikrit region to produce energy sufficient for them to do everything they want. I would not be surprised if one day I discovered that they use it for mining. I don't have accurate data and this is just an assumption.
Mining of some altcoins can be done using graphics cards and therefore it is impossible to be tracked by electricity consumption.
If we take the Antminer S19 as an example, the electricity consumption is 3250W. some home appliances such as the cooktop and central AC system need between 3000-4000 W. Therefore, if you are in a large apartment, you will consume this amount of electricity.
If we take the Antminer S19 as an example, the electricity consumption is 3250W. some home appliances such as the cooktop and central AC system need between 3000-4000 W. Therefore, if you are in a large apartment, you will consume this amount of electricity.
And do you run your AC or your overn 24/7?
An S19 running at 3250W would burn 78 kwh a day, 28,470 kwh a month.
Average household consumption is 11156 for the US, 4169 for Spain , 2307 in Iran, and only 1108 in India.
What do you plan on blaming for nearly 20x more than the average electricity consumption?
It's child-play to track, look at your electricity bill and tell me for how many hours could you have run a S19 on the amount of kwh burned during month?
If you mine cryptocurrencies in a house or apartment, this will be noticeable by the high electricity consumption.
Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
The problem with mining devices is noise, not electricity consumption. No matter how much you try to reduce the noise, the sound of mining devices is still loud and it is difficult to hide it if you are in an apartment or a confined place. It is possible in this simple way to reveal your location.
You can listen to the sound of these devices in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yyquzJdexs
Mining of some altcoins can be done using graphics cards and therefore it is impossible to be tracked by electricity consumption.
If we take the Antminer S19 as an example, the electricity consumption is 3250W. some home appliances such as the cooktop and central AC system need between 3000-4000 W. Therefore, if you are in a large apartment, you will consume this amount of electricity.
If you mine cryptocurrencies in a house or apartment, this will be noticeable by the high electricity consumption.
Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Unless you divide your electricity consumption by half through the use of generators, I'm clearly not an electrical engineer or an electrician but if you do that, you can probably cut your electricity consumption which will enable you to hide enough of your mining activity and help you avoid suspicions that you're probably doing a bitcoin mining operation but that comes with the problem of having to spend your money on gas fuel for the generator and depending on how powerful your generator is, the noise that it's going to generate will surely alarm your neighbors thus not helping with you escape suspicion that you're mining but anything that can help you prevent detection that your household is consuming electricity than what it normally should will always need to be considered.Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Gas-powered generators are also not very profitable due to the expensive gas and the requirements for oil changes, filters and other maintenance.
A way I think would be better to hide the consumption rate is running a charity by providing power for the entire neighborhood. You will have to regulate what power the neighborhood will consume. It could be upto 30% of the power you can generate. By this, the your rate of electricity consumption will not raise an eyebrows.
The impact in the business will be high cost of power supply or maintenance while using generators. The best is to find an environment where your rate of power consumption is not a problem, provided you can pay for the power.
In any place, records are kept of the electricity consumed if it is used by different users, and no one will allow the installation of powerful generators in a residential area.
Did you hear the noise of these installations?
You greatly increase investments in additional equipment that does not provide profit.
Just because the Kurds can practice mining in Syria or Iraq does not mean that they should be allowed to do so in Iran as well. Iran does not intend to legalize the field for fear that the use of cryptocurrencies will become widespread and the results will be difficult to quantify. When crypto is legalized, its uses will not be limited to mining only and will facilitate its use in all other fields, including anti-state activities.
As a resident of this region, I can say that mining in Iraq and Syria is not possible due to the nature of the region raging with wars and the destruction of infrastructure, especially the electricity network, which is the most important element in the mining process.As for the Kurds in northern and eastern Syria, they do not have the ability to supply the areas under their control with sufficient electricity or even water. They are also constantly exposed to bombing and harassment from the Turkish government, which does not want them near its lands. So practically mining there is almost impossible.
It all depends on the neighborhood. Hiding from high electricity consumption by using generators will surely disturb the neighborhood as someone said above. Then, if the generator runs upto 18hrs of 24hrs, it will raise higher suspicion.
A way I think would be better to hide the consumption rate is running a charity by providing power for the entire neighborhood. You will have to regulate what power the neighborhood will consume. It could be upto 30% of the power you can generate. By this, the your rate of electricity consumption will not raise an eyebrows.
The impact in the business will be high cost of power supply or maintenance while using generators. The best is to find an environment where your rate of power consumption is not a problem, provided you can pay for the power.
So cute, so your suggestion is to steal electricity from other people for your own profit? Well, even if you manage to get away with excessive power consumption, you'd still have to pay exponentially more than export rate, and if you steal from people, you'll have to deal with angry angels while flying towards hell. 😉 therefore there is no profit in mining Bitcoin with those 2 options. A way I think would be better to hide the consumption rate is running a charity by providing power for the entire neighborhood. You will have to regulate what power the neighborhood will consume. It could be upto 30% of the power you can generate. By this, the your rate of electricity consumption will not raise an eyebrows.
The impact in the business will be high cost of power supply or maintenance while using generators. The best is to find an environment where your rate of power consumption is not a problem, provided you can pay for the power.
If you mine cryptocurrencies in a house or apartment, this will be noticeable by the high electricity consumption.
Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Unless you divide your electricity consumption by half through the use of generators, I'm clearly not an electrical engineer or an electrician but if you do that, you can probably cut your electricity consumption which will enable you to hide enough of your mining activity and help you avoid suspicions that you're probably doing a bitcoin mining operation but that comes with the problem of having to spend your money on gas fuel for the generator and depending on how powerful your generator is, the noise that it's going to generate will surely alarm your neighbors thus not helping with you escape suspicion that you're mining but anything that can help you prevent detection that your household is consuming electricity than what it normally should will always need to be considered.Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Gas-powered generators are also not very profitable due to the expensive gas and the requirements for oil changes, filters and other maintenance.
A way I think would be better to hide the consumption rate is running a charity by providing power for the entire neighborhood. You will have to regulate what power the neighborhood will consume. It could be upto 30% of the power you can generate. By this, the your rate of electricity consumption will not raise an eyebrows.
The impact in the business will be high cost of power supply or maintenance while using generators. The best is to find an environment where your rate of power consumption is not a problem, provided you can pay for the power.
If you mine cryptocurrencies in a house or apartment, this will be noticeable by the high electricity consumption.
Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Unless you divide your electricity consumption by half through the use of generators, I'm clearly not an electrical engineer or an electrician but if you do that, you can probably cut your electricity consumption which will enable you to hide enough of your mining activity and help you avoid suspicions that you're probably doing a bitcoin mining operation but that comes with the problem of having to spend your money on gas fuel for the generator and depending on how powerful your generator is, the noise that it's going to generate will surely alarm your neighbors thus not helping with you escape suspicion that you're mining but anything that can help you prevent detection that your household is consuming electricity than what it normally should will always need to be considered.Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Gas-powered generators are also not very profitable due to the expensive gas and the requirements for oil changes, filters and other maintenance.
As far as I know, importing mining equipments without permit is illegal, if they catch you, they will confiscate the goods. Mining requires a permit to avoid exploitation of electricity consumption, and when you get a permit, you can use industrial electricity with export price, I haven't heard that you have to sell to the government, I mean why would you even want to mine if they force you to give up your coins?
If you mine cryptocurrencies in a house or apartment, this will be noticeable by the high electricity consumption.
Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Unless you divide your electricity consumption by half through the use of generators, I'm clearly not an electrical engineer or an electrician but if you do that, you can probably cut your electricity consumption which will enable you to hide enough of your mining activity and help you avoid suspicions that you're probably doing a bitcoin mining operation but that comes with the problem of having to spend your money on gas fuel for the generator and depending on how powerful your generator is, the noise that it's going to generate will surely alarm your neighbors thus not helping with you escape suspicion that you're mining but anything that can help you prevent detection that your household is consuming electricity than what it normally should will always need to be considered. Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
I do not understand the political complexities in that country, but as a solo miner, it is very difficult for governments to know that you are mining Bitcoin. Even in China, the government is trying to track energy consumption (which can be avoided by using it inside an industrial facility) or impose censorship on the Internet, but you can still mining. Establishing mining farms will be It is more difficult due to the difficulty of hiding it due to the vast areas it requires.
If you mine cryptocurrencies in a house or apartment, this will be noticeable by the high electricity consumption. Even if you steal electricity, this will also cause inspections. Mining farms do not occupy huge areas, and they are easy to hide, but constant and stable electricity consumption is very difficult to hide.
Reports that talk about mining and Bitcoin in Iran may not be accurate, but if we assume that they are accurate, the Iranian economy is too large for Bitcoin to contribute to changing the GDP. Iran’s oil exports are about 400 thousand barrels in the worst conditions, and the GDP is 359.7 billion USD (2021).
It is possible to talk about the extent of mining in Iran if you move the topic to mining board, but from a legal standpoint, the government may give free land to miners, free electricity, zero taxes and customs in exchange for their participation in the profits.
I do not understand the political complexities in that country, but as a solo miner, it is very difficult for governments to know that you are mining Bitcoin. Even in China, the government is trying to track energy consumption (which can be avoided by using it inside an industrial facility) or impose censorship on the Internet, but you can still mining. Establishing mining farms will be It is more difficult due to the difficulty of hiding it due to the vast areas it requires.
It is possible to talk about the extent of mining in Iran if you move the topic to mining board, but from a legal standpoint, the government may give free land to miners, free electricity, zero taxes and customs in exchange for their participation in the profits.
At the same time, Iran is afraid of completely legalizing crypto activities for fear that this will be used to finance separatist groups on its borders, such as the Kurds. Therefore, Iran does not want to completely ban mining in order to benefit from its resources used later for bypassing western sanctions, and at the same time it does not want crypto to be used in activities hostile to it.
I do not understand the political complexities in that country, but as a solo miner, it is very difficult for governments to know that you are mining Bitcoin. Even in China, the government is trying to track energy consumption (which can be avoided by using it inside an industrial facility) or impose censorship on the Internet, but you can still mining. Establishing mining farms will be It is more difficult due to the difficulty of hiding it due to the vast areas it requires.
Just because the Kurds can practice mining in Syria or Iraq does not mean that they should be allowed to do so in Iran as well. Iran does not intend to legalize the field for fear that the use of cryptocurrencies will become widespread and the results will be difficult to quantify. When crypto is legalized, its uses will not be limited to mining only and will facilitate its use in all other fields, including anti-state activities.
I myself share Iran's concerns and find it very normal, although I want Bitcoin and crypto culture in general to spread. But with the logic of a country like Iran, I can find many excuses for them. The most important of which is that it is a country surrounded by its enemies on every side and hostile to most of the world.
I myself share Iran's concerns and find it very normal, although I want Bitcoin and crypto culture in general to spread. But with the logic of a country like Iran, I can find many excuses for them. The most important of which is that it is a country surrounded by its enemies on every side and hostile to most of the world.
It's still sad that they're afraid of their own people using cryptos, it proves that they're not giving people what they're really want as a State, otherwise there would be trust between the government and the population. Being a control-freak dictatorship shouldn't be an acceptable excuse for anything.
Groups opposed to the state will always be financed, whether with fiat, shares, art or cryptos, that's not an excuse for being opposed to cryptocurrencies in my opinion.
Iran can be considered a religious state in the ideological sense because the supreme leader of the state is a cleric and is the highest authority in the country. Therefore, the system of government is based on dictatorship and the passing of rulings is through repression if consensus does not succeed.
Even without western sanctions imposed on Iran, do not expect that life will be easy or that control over money movements will be normal. The Iranian regime has internal enemies who feed from enemies abroad. That is, the Iranian issue is not the only thing that creates hostilities, because disputes with its neighbors in the region are based on sectarian and ethnic backgrounds.
The government in Iran knows that citizens will not hesitate to use any means to avoid falling under international sanctions. So I don't think Iran would want to let it get out of her hands.
Just because the Kurds can practice mining in Syria or Iraq does not mean that they should be allowed to do so in Iran as well. Iran does not intend to legalize the field for fear that the use of cryptocurrencies will become widespread and the results will be difficult to quantify. When crypto is legalized, its uses will not be limited to mining only and will facilitate its use in all other fields, including anti-state activities.
I myself share Iran's concerns and find it very normal, although I want Bitcoin and crypto culture in general to spread. But with the logic of a country like Iran, I can find many excuses for them. The most important of which is that it is a country surrounded by its enemies on every side and hostile to most of the world.
I myself share Iran's concerns and find it very normal, although I want Bitcoin and crypto culture in general to spread. But with the logic of a country like Iran, I can find many excuses for them. The most important of which is that it is a country surrounded by its enemies on every side and hostile to most of the world.
It's still sad that they're afraid of their own people using cryptos, it proves that they're not giving people what they're really want as a State, otherwise there would be trust between the government and the population. Being a control-freak dictatorship shouldn't be an acceptable excuse for anything.
Groups opposed to the state will always be financed, whether with fiat, shares, art or cryptos, that's not an excuse for being opposed to cryptocurrencies in my opinion.
As you say, Iran is (more or less) isolated on the international scene, and could use cryptos to get around sanctions, and make up for the blocking of certain fiat currencies that they suffer... They're probably already doing it at a high level of government and unofficially.
At the same time, Iran is afraid of completely legalizing crypto activities for fear that this will be used to finance separatist groups on its borders, such as the Kurds. Therefore, Iran does not want to completely ban mining in order to benefit from its resources used later for bypassing western sanctions, and at the same time it does not want crypto to be used in activities hostile to it.
I identified an important situation from your explanation. Could it be that one of the reasons why Iran is making policies to regulate the activities of miners is to limit the use of Bitcoin by the Kurdish rebels? Stopping or limiting these transnational separatist groups from receiving funds from cryptocurrency will be very difficult because of the decentralized nature of the currency. These Kurdish rebels operate in different countries which include Syria, Turkey, and Iraq and it is suspected that they receive large funding from some regional powers. Just because the Kurds can practice mining in Syria or Iraq does not mean that they should be allowed to do so in Iran as well. Iran does not intend to legalize the field for fear that the use of cryptocurrencies will become widespread and the results will be difficult to quantify. When crypto is legalized, its uses will not be limited to mining only and will facilitate its use in all other fields, including anti-state activities.
I myself share Iran's concerns and find it very normal, although I want Bitcoin and crypto culture in general to spread. But with the logic of a country like Iran, I can find many excuses for them. The most important of which is that it is a country surrounded by its enemies on every side and hostile to most of the world.
At the same time, Iran is afraid of completely legalizing crypto activities for fear that this will be used to finance separatist groups on its borders, such as the Kurds. Therefore, Iran does not want to completely ban mining in order to benefit from its resources used later for bypassing western sanctions, and at the same time it does not want crypto to be used in activities hostile to it.
I identified an important situation from your explanation. Could it be that one of the reasons why Iran is making policies to regulate the activities of miners is to limit the use of Bitcoin by the Kurdish rebels? Stopping or limiting these transnational separatist groups from receiving funds from cryptocurrency will be very difficult because of the decentralized nature of the currency. These Kurdish rebels operate in different countries which include Syria, Turkey, and Iraq and it is suspected that they receive large funding from some regional powers. ~
The articles the OP quoted are close to three years old and there were no links to any legal document. We might not know how valid the information is and also the current situation. But most website seems to agree that Iran is using Bitcoin to invade sanctions from the US and other countries. Encouraging miners to sell their coins to the government is not a bad idea if they are not forced to do that and the price is competitive. Miners that want to hold coins should be given the freedom to keep them and the price the state is willing to buy should also be the same as in the international market. Failure to treat these miners fairly will make Iran unfriendly and force miners to move to other nations.
Regarding the age of the article and the cricket noises after the fact, I was hoping we can see what happened next in this story, did Iran follow through? Did the miners ever complied on this arrangement? I can agree with you that it's a good arrangement that they are encouraged to sell at a competitive price but my problem with that is what OP said, that the government (Ministry of Energy and Central Bank of Iran) have a say on what's the share of the miners depending on their energy consumption which is totally in favor of the government. Knowing Iran and how they do things there based on what I've read about the country, I don't think that freedom is a big deal there so yeah, you're probably right that this is their way to fund their country while at the same time evading US sanctions.
I had published the same topic in my local board and got some useful information regarding the mining situation in Iran.
I will try to summarize it: Iran has enormous energy resources and can establish mining centers if work is done to establish appropriate infrastructure. Of course, Iran did not work on this and did not think about regulating the sector, since it is like many other countries that refuse to join the bandwagon of technology. This led to the emergence of many miners carrying out their activities in secret, which caused an impact on the electricity distribution networks (successive outages, limited flow...), which forced the state to try to contain the matter through the legislation mentioned in the OP.
At the same time, Iran is afraid of completely legalizing crypto activities for fear that this will be used to finance separatist groups on its borders, such as the Kurds. Therefore, Iran does not want to completely ban mining in order to benefit from its resources used later for bypassing western sanctions, and at the same time it does not want crypto to be used in activities hostile to it.
~
The articles the OP quoted are close to three years old and there were no links to any legal document. We might not know how valid the information is and also the current situation. But most website seems to agree that Iran is using Bitcoin to invade sanctions from the US and other countries. Encouraging miners to sell their coins to the government is not a bad idea if they are not forced to do that and the price is competitive. Miners that want to hold coins should be given the freedom to keep them and the price the state is willing to buy should also be the same as in the international market. Failure to treat these miners fairly will make Iran unfriendly and force miners to move to other nations.
Regarding the age of the article and the cricket noises after the fact, I was hoping we can see what happened next in this story, did Iran follow through? Did the miners ever complied on this arrangement? I can agree with you that it's a good arrangement that they are encouraged to sell at a competitive price but my problem with that is what OP said, that the government (Ministry of Energy and Central Bank of Iran) have a say on what's the share of the miners depending on their energy consumption which is totally in favor of the government. Knowing Iran and how they do things there based on what I've read about the country, I don't think that freedom is a big deal there so yeah, you're probably right that this is their way to fund their country while at the same time evading US sanctions.
Jump to: