Iran allows cryptocurrency mining-but only if you play by rules that change every few months. In 2025, it’s not about whether you can mine-it’s about whether you’ll still be allowed to when the next power outage hits.

Legal, but under heavy control

Yes, mining crypto in Iran is legal. But that’s only half the story. Since January 2025, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has been the only body authorized to issue mining licenses. Every miner-whether a single person with a rig in their garage or a company with a warehouse full of ASICs-must register with the CBI. You need to prove your hardware is approved, your electricity usage is tracked, and your transactions happen through government-monitored rial accounts. No exceptions.

This wasn’t always the case. Back in 2018, the government saw crypto mining as a way to earn foreign currency and bypass sanctions. But by 2024, the reality set in: mining was eating up the grid. During the summer of 2024, blackouts hit major cities. Authorities blamed illegal miners for siphoning 2,000 megawatts of power-enough to light up a medium-sized country. The result? A four-month nationwide ban. Afterward, the government didn’t ban mining. They tightened it.

Electricity: The real cost

Iran has some of the cheapest electricity in the world. For industrial users, it’s around $0.004 per kWh. That’s why, in 2021, Iran was responsible for nearly 5% of all Bitcoin mining worldwide. But here’s the catch: legal miners don’t get that rate anymore.

Since December 2024, mining operations are charged the highest electricity tariff in the country-even higher than factories and steel plants. The goal? To make mining expensive enough that only the most efficient, licensed players survive. But here’s the irony: state-backed miners, especially those linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), still get subsidized power. One known IRGC-operated mine in Rafsanjan, Kerman, runs on 175 megawatts of free electricity. Meanwhile, private miners pay top dollar and still get cut off during peak hours.

The result? A two-tier system. One for the connected. One for everyone else.

How to mine legally (if you dare)

If you want to mine legally in Iran today, here’s what you need:

1. Apply for a license from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade
2. Register with the Central Bank of Iran and open a monitored rial account
3. Use only government-approved mining hardware
4. Submit detailed energy usage projections
5. Accept that your power may be cut during national shortages

And you can’t just set up shop anywhere. Special economic zones with dedicated power lines exist-but they’re mostly occupied by IRGC-linked companies. Private operators struggle to get access. Even if you get approved, you need to monitor updates from at least three government agencies daily. Rules change fast. A policy that was legal last week could be banned tomorrow.

The underground market

Despite the crackdown, mining never really stopped. It just went underground. Some miners operate inside mosques and religious centers, which receive free electricity from the state. Others use fake business licenses to mask mining as data centers or server farms. A few even connect their rigs to streetlights or public buildings.

These operations are risky. If caught, fines can be steep and equipment seized. But for many, it’s the only option. With official exchanges blocking crypto-to-rial transfers since December 2024, people turned to peer-to-peer trading. LocalBitcoins saw a 78% spike in Iranian trades after the payment freeze. That’s how many buy food, pay bills, or send money home-through crypto, even if it’s illegal to do so officially.

Why the government can’t quit crypto

Iran’s government doesn’t hate crypto. It just hates losing control. In 2022, Bitcoin mining brought in roughly $1 billion annually. That’s real money, especially under sanctions. But they can’t let private miners run wild and drain the grid. So they created a system where the state gets the benefits-without the chaos.

That’s why the CBI is pushing its own digital currency: the Rial Currency. It’s not mined. It’s not decentralized. It’s just the Iranian rial, but digital-and fully controlled by the central bank. The goal? Replace Bitcoin and other cryptos in everyday use. By 2026, the government hopes to make it the only legal digital payment system.

But people aren’t ready to give up. Even with a 42% drop in customer ratings for Iranian crypto platforms after the February 2025 advertising ban, demand hasn’t disappeared. In January 2025, an estimated one million Iranians couldn’t buy crypto for 23 days. They couldn’t pay for medicine, utilities, or groceries online. That’s when the real cost of regulation became clear-not for miners, but for ordinary people.

The future: More restrictions, less freedom

The trend is clear: Iran is moving toward total state control of digital currency. The January 2025 directive gave the CBI full access to all transaction data. The February 2025 ban on crypto advertising shut down the last public visibility of the industry. Foreign investors who thought they could profit from low electricity costs are now walking away. Why? Because the rules aren’t stable. They’re political.

Compare Iran to Kazakhstan, where mining is stable and growing. Iran’s approach is reactive: ban when the lights go out, license when the budget needs a boost. There’s no long-term plan-just crisis management.

And with energy shortages expected again in summer 2025, another ban could come at any time. The only miners who’ll survive are those with political connections. Everyone else? They’ll be left with hardware they can’t sell and a system that won’t let them earn.

What this means for you

If you’re thinking about mining crypto in Iran in 2025, ask yourself this: Are you ready to be at the mercy of a government that bans your business to fix its power grid?

Legal mining is possible-but it’s expensive, unstable, and stacked against private operators. The low electricity rates? Gone for everyone but the elite. The chance to make money? Slim, and shrinking fast. The risk of sudden shutdowns? Real.

For most people, the smarter move isn’t to mine. It’s to avoid the whole system.