Iran seizes 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines after power spike

[Jating]

Maybe someone inside Iran is preparing for the worst, and hearing bitcoin's ability to be a good store of value, they might have been been doing this for the last 6 months or so and heighten with the latest political turmoil with US of A.

Sadly, they've been caught, but I'm sure this will caught the attention of more Iranians to try to get their hands on bitcoin, just like what Venezuela and Zimbabwe did.

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[hosseinimr93]

Iran has less buyers of it's oil so oil is dirt cheap there. They produce electricity from petroleum products and bitcoin and crypto are not only a source of income but also a way to avoid embargo as embargo are monitored through bank transactions. Iran should further encourage it's citizen to use crypto than to restrict it.

There is no restriction. There are only some controversies about the price of electricity that is being consumed for bitcoin mining and it is being discussed. Electricity price is very low in Iran and what is now going on is completely normal.

[rdbase]

It's highly unlikely for Iran to be the new "crypto mining paradise".Iran was never really bitcoin-friendly,due to the project of creating it's own cryptocurrency or due to the authoritarian nature of it's government.It's well known that authoritarian countries aren't crypto-friendly.
However,I'm surprised by the amount of mining hardware,that is currently used in Iran.

Well their electricity is virtually free isnt it? Or the government subsidizes it to some extent so to offer it very cheaply to its iranian citizens.

[JohnBitCo]

Iran has less buyers of it's oil so oil is dirt cheap there. They produce electricity from petroleum products and bitcoin and crypto are not only a source of income but also a way to avoid embargo as embargo are monitored through bank transactions. Iran should further encourage it's citizen to use crypto than to restrict it.

Keeping aside the political situation of the country, Iran has been sanctioned by the US and thier economy is not is good position. I don't know what can be the reason to stop people from mining the crypto but they should realize that if they want to survive, the only chance is to adopt bitcoins and boycott the US dollar.

[Khaos77]

Iran has less buyers of it's oil so oil is dirt cheap there. They produce electricity from petroleum products and bitcoin and crypto are not only a source of income but also a way to avoid embargo as embargo are monitored through bank transactions. Iran should further encourage it's citizen to use crypto than to restrict it.

Keeping aside the political situation of the country, Iran has been sanctioned by the US and thier economy is not is good position. I don't know what can be the reason to stop people from mining the crypto but they should realize that if they want to survive, the only chance is to adopt bitcoins and boycott the US dollar.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2019/06/25/iran-electricity-grid-unstable-bitcoin/

Iran Warns Its Electricity Grid Is Becoming Unstable Because Of Power-Hungry Bitcoin Miners

the Iranian government is blaming bitcoin miners for a potentially unsustainable surge in electricity use.

The Iranian government is afraid the bitcoin miners are close to collapsing their power grid.
If this happens, then hospitals on the grid could lose power or traffic lights could go out and place people lifes in jeopardy.

Many here want to pretend like bitcoin energy waste is a non-issue.
Eventually the Governments will decide who has access to the electricity and it won't be in bitcoin's favor. (Like Iran & China)
Which is why energy efficient consensus designs are the future and PoW is a technological dead end.

[Ucy]

 Iran probably also mine gold (and other precious metals). And many countries have large reserves in GOLD, should we then ban gold or destroy lands where gold is mined?

I honestly don't like the idea of large mining farms but what can we do? If mining is distributed like nodes, nobody will notice this things.

Proof of stake can never be an option. It one of the reasons why we have endless numbers of cryptocurrencies

[mazdafunsun]

Authorities in Iran have seized roughly 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines from two former factories, according to state TV reports.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48799155

Can this confirmed that indeed Iran is already into bitcoin now as a hedge specially as fears of a total war with US?

Why are you talking about War with US? I think that this is not the question.

I find it very interesting that they are generally against the cryptocurrencies in their country although this is one of the rare ways to do any transactions because of the sanctions.

This source : https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-bitcoin-miners-set-up-shop-in-mosques-amid-govt-crackdown

I stating that machines which were sized were locates in their mosques because they get free energy.

[Khaos77]

Iran probably also mine gold (and other precious metals). And many countries have large reserves in GOLD, should we then ban gold or destroy lands where gold is mined?

I honestly don't like the idea of large mining farms but what can we do? If mining is distributed like nodes, nobody will notice this things.

Proof of stake can never be an option. It one of the reasons why we have endless numbers of cryptocurrencies

Proof of Stake is an option, and using rolling checkpoints can be more secure than a PoW without rolling checkpoints.

Blackcoin has proven to be a strong design, and unlike many PoW coin,
it does not waste energy and is very secure.

There are other consensus designs that are also energy efficient, but PoW mining will eventually be blocked.

The failure of the Bitcoin community is the refusal to admit the problem and then seek a solution.
Whether the solution is an old design or a brand new one.

[kryptqnick]

Authorities in Iran have seized roughly 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines from two former factories, according to state TV reports.

The action was taken following a spike in electricity consumption.

Demand for power rose by 7% in June and cryptocurrency mining was thought to be the main cause, an energy ministry spokesman told local state-run media.

One researcher said Bitcoin was gaining more and more attention in Iran as a potential means of storing wealth.

"Two of these bitcoin farms have been identified, with a consumption of one megawatt," Arash Navab, an electricity official, told state television.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48799155

Can this confirmed that indeed Iran is already into bitcoin now as a hedge specially as fears of a total war with US?

I don't get it. Okay, I think it's fair to put some pressure on whichever companies or projects are using the most electricity that results in the minimum usefulness. But seizing miners seems to be an overreaction. Electricity consumption is growing, it's natural for civilization. What, is it a crime to use more power? Another thing is to set some official limitations on non-ecologically friendly electricity, thus leading to a greener future. The article is simply too short and a bit unorganized, and that makes it hard to understand what actually happened and on which grounds.

[pixie85]

So they stole bitcoin miners from people who bought these machines and set them up to make money? What a great country to live in!

What are they going to do with them now? Start mining themselves? Or does Koran forbid them to speculate with fake money?

[figmentofmyass]

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48799155

Can this confirmed that indeed Iran is already into bitcoin now as a hedge specially as fears of a total war with US?

it just confirms there are some private bitcoin miners in iran large enough to get on the government's radar now. 2 farms with 1000 miners doesn't exactly constitute mainstream adoption or anything.

clearly, the government doesn't like what's going on either.

D you think they will mine for there own now with the machines?

interesting thought. confiscate the machines, start mining bitcoin reserves for the government. why not? i've always thought this would eventually happen---governments holding bitcoin reserves. it still feels pretty early though.

[pooya87]

it was 1 factory and it was practically stealing electricity because the electricity it was receiving was meant to be used in that factory for the thing that that factory was build to do not something else. and since they got electricity for something else with the discounts and then used it to mine bitcoin, that makes it illegal and leads to their closure not just mining bitcoin or using electricity. instability of grid,... are just side products.

[Sithara007]

Not very surprising. The Iranian Rial has lost more than 30% of its value during the last three to four years and the central bank is trying very hard to prevent any further devaluation by burning what is left of the forex storage. They are trying quite hard to prevent the capital flows out of the country and it is getting hard to obtain foreign currency in Iran. Gold is also getting hard to find. And Bitcoin is one of the few avenues left for ordinary Iranians to store their wealth.

[Slow death]

I wonder if when they publish this type of news the journalists try a little to investigate if it really is true or not. according to the news, then saying they seizes 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines.

- what is the location of two abandoned factories?

- Who are the people behind this mining? (because 1000 machines and a big investment)

Why the journalists not asking those questions?

[Leonardo7]

The Iranian energy minister has just done the wrong thing by raising the false alarm about bitcoin miners. If there is a spike in energy demand, then improve on the supply to meet up with the increasing demand as this means more money to the pocket of the government, and I hope their energy program is not free? Instead of threatening nuclear war with the US and Israel, they should channel their strength to developing their nation.

[Kakmakr]

I have also seen news that some of these miners are situated in temples and that these temples are exempted from paying for electricity. So if there are a increase in power consumption and a higher need for electricity, then you could understand why the government would target the mining farms first.

A more sinister theory would be that the government is looking for coins to pay "anonymously" for weapons on the black market and that these mining farms were a easy target. <The US has already strengthen it's economic and military sanctions against Iran, after it shot down a US drone.>

[btc_angela]

The Iranian energy minister has just done the wrong thing by raising the false alarm about bitcoin miners. If there is a spike in energy demand, then improve on the supply to meet up with the increasing demand as this means more money to the pocket of the government, and I hope their energy program is not free? Instead of threatening nuclear war with the US and Israel, they should channel their strength to developing their nation.

It's been affecting the supply of their power grid, so it makes sense to sound the alarm here. Even here during the summer, we also have this kind of color warning and advising people about saving energy. Unfortunately, in the case of Iran miners, they've been caught as per the report. We don't want to assume that an imminent war could happen though, it's far-fetched.

[killat]

The problem with mining is just having cheap electricity isn't favourble for mining. You need take into consideration several factors like the initial investment for hardware, BTC price, mining pool to join. You can try an online tool like cryptocompare to find how much profit you can actually make with BTC. If you are open to alts, there are many alt coins which will be more profitable

[arpon11]

Authorities in Iran have seized roughly 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines from two former factories, according to state TV reports.

The action was taken following a spike in electricity consumption.

Demand for power rose by 7% in June and cryptocurrency mining was thought to be the main cause, an energy ministry spokesman told local state-run media.

One researcher said Bitcoin was gaining more and more attention in Iran as a potential means of storing wealth.

"Two of these bitcoin farms have been identified, with a consumption of one megawatt," Arash Navab, an electricity official, told state television.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48799155

Can this confirmed that indeed Iran is already into bitcoin now as a hedge specially as fears of a total war with US?

It is clear that Iran citizens are preparing for the probability of what might happen since there is tension between them and the United States of America(USA). Bitcoin is the best form of money anyone can carry in case of war and that is why mining activities increase in Iran. On the other hands, this should influence the market positively as it might reduce the supply to bearable mining. But for the government, the best thing to do could have increased the power stations so the citizens and their economies will less depend on dollars or foreign currency for international trade.

[stompix]

Well their electricity is virtually free isnt it? Or the government subsidizes it to some extent so to offer it very cheaply to its iranian citizens.

Yeah, it's "virtually" free, just like gas in Venezuela.
The problems start when the government runs out of money to keep things free.

I wonder if when they publish this type of news the journalists try a little to investigate if it really is true or not. according to the news, then saying they seizes 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines.
- what is the location of two abandoned factories?
- Who are the people behind this mining? (because 1000 machines and a big investment)
Why the journalists not asking those questions?

Who to ask in Iran?
Do you think they will allow police or whatever organization was in charge of the raid to talk to a western journalist?
They release a statement and we will have to be happy with that unless some guy that was working with those miners comes on this forum or Reddit or TW and gives some extra info, thing which I highly doubt.

It is clear that Iran citizens are preparing for the probability of what might happen since there is tension between them and the United States of America(USA). Bitcoin is the best form of money anyone can carry in case of war and that is why mining activities increase in Iran. On the other hands, this should influence the market positively as it might reduce the supply to bearable mining. But for the government, the best thing to do could have increased the power stations so the citizens and their economies will less depend on dollars or foreign currency for international trade.

Makes zero sense.
First, you have to buy mining gear and since none is produced in Iran you have to import those, so leaving a trace.
Not only is this stupid but think again

They paid foreigners to get the gear!!!
If you look to get your money out of the country since you have already done this paying bitmain or canaan or whatever, what's the point of getting bitcoin for it?

Then, you have to ROI to get that money back, what will happen if the war breaks tomorrow?
You're going to flee the country with a 9.5kg miner in your backpack?