The post Iran’s Bitcoin Mining Industry: Inside the World’s Fifth-Largest Operaticom. With 95% of mining operations running illegally and consuming enough power to light up entire cities, Iran’s crypto boom is pushing an already fragile power grid to the breaking point. A Nation Turning to Digital Currency Iran’s cryptocurrency interest exploded after 2017 when international sanctions cut off access to global banking systems. Unable to use traditional finance, the country turned to Bitcoin and other digital currencies as a way around restrictions. Today, Iran controls about 4. 2% of global Bitcoin mining power, ranking fifth worldwide behind the United States, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Canada. This is a major drop from March 2021 when Iran held 7. 5% of the global hashrate, but it still represents significant operations. The appeal is simple: electricity in Iran costs between $0. 01 and $0. 05 per kilowatt-hour, making it incredibly cheap to mine Bitcoin. With costs as low as $1,300 to mine a single Bitcoin that can sell for over $100,000, the profit margins are enormous. Around 22% of Iran’s population now uses or owns cryptocurrency, with an estimated 10 million users in the country. For many Iranians facing severe inflation-the rial lost 37% of its value against the dollar in 2024 alone-crypto offers a way to protect savings from collapse. The Illegal Mining Problem Iranian officials report that approximately 427, 000 active crypto mining devices operate across the country. The shocking part? An estimated 95% are illegal, operating without proper authorization. These underground operations consume roughly 2, 000 megawatts of electricity-equal to what two nuclear reactors produce. Energy officials say crypto mining now accounts for 15-20% of Iran’s electricity shortage problems. The illegal miners hide their operations everywhere: abandoned homes, rural farms, underground tunnels, and even industrial facilities disguised as legitimate businesses. During one internet outage related to conflict with Israel, power consumption dropped by 2, 400 megawatts when over 900, 000.