On Nov. 13, PressTV, an Iranian news outlet reported that the country’s authorities are offering a reward to anyone who provides adequate information regarding illegal mining of cryptocurrencies in the country.
As per the report Mostafa Rajabi, a representative of the country’s Energy Ministry, made the announcement during an interview with IRIB News, where he also elaborated on the new regulations that apply to the pricing of electricity for cryptocurrency miners.
He clearly stated that if anyone could expose cryptocurrency miners who make illicit use of subsidized electricity, the person will be rewarded with up to 20% of the recovery of damages.
The new regulations in Iran consisted of a ban placed on miners to prevent them from operating during the peak of energy consumption in the country, which according to Rajabi, “spanned over 300 hours a year.”
He further added that at other times of the year, the price for the export of electricity in the country, which is 9,650 rails ($0.08) per Kilowatt-hours, will be the average price of electricity consumed by miners.
However, he explained that during the cold months of the year, the price would be half of the average price. On the other hand, during the warm months of the year, when the consumption of electricity will increase throughout the country, the price will be four times the average price.
The introduction of these new regulations came almost four months after the Iranian authorities started tracking down miners who illicitly use subsidized power for their operations. It is also no longer news that certain individuals tap electricity from public sources to mine Bitcoin.
In May, Coinfomania reported that a 61-year old Chinese grandma was arrested for stealing electricity to mine Bitcoin.
