Asia

Home page

Asia

Iran seizes 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines after power spike

28 June 2019 16:13 (UTC +04:00)

Authorities in Iran have seized roughly 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines from two former factories, APA reports citing BBC.

The action was taken following a spike in electricity consumption.

Demand for power rose by 7% in June and cryptocurrency mining was thought to be the main cause, an energy ministry spokesman told local state-run media.

One researcher said Bitcoin was gaining more and more attention in Iran as a potential means of storing wealth.

"Two of these bitcoin farms have been identified, with a consumption of one megawatt," Arash Navab, an electricity official, told state television.Mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin involves connecting computers - usually specialised "mining machines" - to the currency network via the internet.

By providing computing power for validating transactions on that network, mining machine owners are rewarded with newly generated coins, making it a potentially lucrative exercise - especially when done on a large scale.