Fines! Seizures! Arrests! Iranian Bitcoin miners feel threatened

Amid this, the growth of Iran’s bitcoin mining industry is coming to a standstill, with some miners having to move their operations underground and others shutting down altogether.

Summary: According to Coindesk, before the formal mining license legislation was introduced, the Iranian government has been cracking down on cryptocurrency mining operations in the past three months. According to people familiar with the matter, some people may be sentenced to prison for continuing to operate, and they also face the risk of high fines or mining machines being seized.

“If the government knew about my equipment, they would seize it. I would be arrested,” one small bitcoin mining farm owner with 15 mining machines in Tehran told CoinDesk. “After six months of waiting (for an interview permit), they still want crypto miners to look like criminals.”

Another bitcoin miner estimated that the government has confiscated 80,000 mining machines in the past four months. The actual number is hard to tell because it is not publicly available. He ran a mine directly connected to a power plant and lost thousands of machines. He said 30 families lost income when the government shut down his business. He also said he personally knows more than 15 bitcoin miners who have been sentenced to prison.

“We have to wait for the Department of Energy and regulations to come up with tax-related rules for our business,” he said.

An anonymous bitcoin developer in Tehran who often works with miners told CoinDesk that fines range from $2,000 to $5,000 per mining machine, several times its retail value, adding that “there are also fines on electricity prices.”

He explained that electricity fines are typically four times the cost of the electricity. For example, if a mine spends $5,000 on electricity for a whole year, the fine could be $20,000.

Another bitcoin miner told CoinDesk he was accused of smuggling equipment. The anonymous developer said most computer equipment and tech products, from air conditioners to televisions, come from smuggled goods. He said foreign gray market products are usually cheaper and better quality than those sold through official retailers.

Market research firm Gate Trade surveyed 600 Iranian bitcoin supporters over the past two weeks and found that 40% of respondents said a lack of regulatory clarity was the “biggest challenge associated with bitcoin.”

Another miner near Tehran said, “If the police find mining equipment in your car, your equipment will be confiscated and you will be fined for handling or moving illegally imported equipment.”

Amid this, the growth of Iran’s bitcoin mining industry is coming to a standstill, with some miners having to move their operations underground and others shutting down altogether.