The specialized website Bitcoin News, in a detailed report on Iran’s growing energy crisis, identified secret cryptocurrency mining farms as the main cause of the widespread blackouts.
This report, based on local sources and energy experts, claims that massive and hidden cryptocurrency mining facilities—believed to be run under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—have placed unprecedented pressure on Iran’s already worn-out electricity infrastructure.
The Outflow of Capital from Iran Through Cryptocurrencies Increased By “70 Percent” In 2024
According to the report, large-scale, round-the-clock cryptocurrency mining operations, particularly Bitcoin, have led to excessive and uncontrolled electricity consumption on an industrial scale. Many of these farms operate in secret locations, sourcing their electricity either illegally from the public grid or at subsidized rates. This abuse has worsened blackouts across residential, commercial, and industrial areas of the country.
Bitcoin News, quoting angry citizens, reported that people have been left in darkness and heat without electricity while the mining farms continue operating. A resident of Tehran said: “These power cuts are endless. I can’t take it anymore. They only mine cryptocurrency, but we are deprived of electricity.”
The report also highlighted the economic consequences of the energy crisis. Power outages have reduced productivity in schools, factories, and service centers, placing additional strain on the already sanctions-hit economy. In many rural and urban areas, the lack of electricity has fueled public discontent and anger toward regime institutions.
The website further wrote, based on field evidence, that state-run power plants are operating at full capacity but cannot meet the soaring demand. Some of these farms use diesel generators during peak consumption hours, which are both costly and environmentally damaging.
The report emphasized that the management and oversight of cryptocurrency mining operations are largely in the hands of military and unaccountable institutions. It concluded that unless transparency, public oversight, and effective legislation are implemented, Iran’s energy crisis will not only remain unresolved but may also worsen.
In November 2024, Ali Aghamohammadi, head of the economic office of Ali Khamenei (the regime’s supreme leader), called for the use of cryptocurrency to circumvent international sanctions on the Iranian regime. On the sidelines of a state event, he told reporters: “The role of cryptocurrencies in the digital economy cannot be denied. To overcome problems in sectors such as banking and financial payments, which are under sanctions, we can use digital currencies and cryptocurrencies.”
He added that regime officials should take Khamenei’s recent remarks on cryptocurrencies seriously. The head of Khamenei’s economic office said that the regime’s leader “also emphasized this issue, and we must move toward ‘proper use of it.'”
