A portion of the 150,000 pieces of cryptocurrency mining equipment that Iranian authorities had previously seized due to energy concerns must be released, per court orders.
Over the past two years, Iranian authorities have seized a lot of cryptocurrency mining equipment, citing strain on the energy grids during the winter. In an effort to save energy, a court has now mandated the release of crypto-mining machinery that had previously been impounded.
Due to looming power shortage worries, Iran’s Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Property (OCSSOP) has been seizing authorised and unauthorised mining equipment since 2021. But in the midst of winter, the authorities changed their minds and ordered the release of the seizure. According to Abdolmajid Eshtehadi, the minister of economic affairs and finance of Iran:
“Currently some 150,000 crypto mining equipment are held by the OCSSOP, a large part of which will be released following judicial rulings. Machines have already been returned.”
Eshtehadi, however, thought that the nation’s energy grids might become more stressed as a result of the recently released mining equipment. To prevent undue strain on the country’s grid system, he recommended that the Generation and Transmission Company of Iran (TAVANIR) submit plans for the use of the hardware.
Iran had to stop providing electricity to authorized mining companies back in June 2022 because the nation’s electricity consumption peaked at an all-time high of 62,500 megawatts (MW). Iran used to contribute 0.12% of the world’s Bitcoin hash rate, but as the above graph shows, that percentage has since risen to 0.2%.
When taking into account the most recent laws that impose a fine for the unauthorized use of subsidized energy for cryptocurrency mining, Iran’s energy concerns become clear.
On the other hand, a Denver-based company called Crusoe Energy wants to assist Oman, a gas-rich nation in the Middle East, in reducing gas flaring, or the burning of natural gas related to oil extraction.
To convert the energy from gas flaring into electricity for mining computers, Crusoe Energy announced plans to launch a pilot project in Muscat, Oman. This initiative will help Oman achieve its 2030 goal of zero gas flaring.