The Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Property (OCSSOP) in Iran seized both authorized and unauthorized mining equipment in recent years due to fears of a power shortage. However, the court's ruling will lead to the release of many of these seized machines.
Abdolmajid Eshtehadi, head of Iran's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, explained that while the released mining equipment may add stress to the country's energy grids, the Generation and Transmission Company of Iran (TAVANIR) must propose plans for the hardware's use to prevent undue strain on the grid system.
Iran's Energy Concerns and Illegal Mining Fines
Iran's energy concerns are highlighted by the recent laws imposing fines for the illegal use of subsidized energy in crypto mining. In June 2022, the country was forced to cut power supply to legal mining firms due to an all-time high electricity consumption of 62,500 megawatts during peak usage. At that time, Iran accounted for 0.12% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, which has increased to 0.2%.
Reducing Gas Flaring in Oman with Crypto Mining
Denver-based company Crusoe Energy has announced plans to open a pilot project in Muscat, Oman, to repurpose gas flaring energy into powering crypto mining computers. This initiative aims to aid Oman's goal of achieving zero gas flaring by 2030 while reducing the burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction.