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Iranian authorities seized numerous crypto mining equipment over the past two years, citing stress on energy grids during winter. Now, a court has ordered the release of cryptoextraction material which was previously seized as an energy-saving measure.
Since 2021, Iran’s Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Property (OCSSOP) has seized mining equipment — both authorized and unauthorized — due to looming power shortage concerns. However, authorities changed their minds in the winter when they ordered that the seizure be released. As explained by Abdolmajid Eshtehadi, the head of Iran's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance:
“Currently some 150,000 crypto mining equipment are held by the OCSSOP, a large part of which will be released following judicial rulings. They've already returned the machines."
But Eshtehadi thought the newly released mining facilities could add stress to the country's energy networks. He suggested that Iran's production and transmission company (tavanir) should come up with plans for the use of the equipment to avoid excessive stress on the nation's network.
Back in June 2022, Iran had to cut the power supply for legal mining firms as the country's electricity consumption recorded an all-time high of 62,500 megawatts (MW) during peak consumption. At the time, Iran used to account for 0.12% of the global Bitcoin () hash rate, which has now increased to 0.2%, as shown in the above graph.
Iran’s energy concerns become evident when considering the recent laws imposing fine for the illegal use of subsidized energy in crypto mining.
Related: Iran Import Association demands regulatory clarity to use crypto in foreign trade
Crusoe Energy of Denver, on the other hand, aims to help Oman, a gas-rich country in the Middle East, reduce the flaring of natural gas from oil extraction.
Crusoe energy has announced its intention to open a pilot in Muscat, Oman, to transform gas flaring energy by supplying mining computers. This initiative will help Oman achieve its zero gas flaring target for 2030.
