Mining Crypto in Iran: Law and Restrictions in 2025

Iran is one of the few countries in the world where cryptocurrency mining is legal-but only if you follow a maze of shifting rules, pay sky-high electricity rates, and avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of state-backed operations. It’s not the wild west anymore. It’s more like a minefield with a government badge.

Legal Mining? Yes, But Only With a License

As of 2025, you can legally mine Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in Iran-but only if you get a license from the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). That’s not optional. Since January 2025, every miner, whether an individual with a rig in their garage or a company running a warehouse full of ASICs, must register with the CBI. You can’t just plug in and start hashing. The government now demands full transparency: all transactions must go through approved rial accounts, and every piece of hardware you use must be on an official list.

The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade also has a say. You need their approval too. And you can’t just pick any power source. The state has set electricity tariffs for mining that are higher than for any other industrial user. Why? Because they want to make sure you’re paying for the power you steal from the grid. Or at least, that’s the theory.

Electricity: The Real Bottleneck

Iran has some of the cheapest electricity in the world-around $0.004 per kWh for industrial users. That’s why, back in 2021, Iran was responsible for nearly 5% of the entire Bitcoin network’s hash rate. But cheap power doesn’t mean reliable power. The grid is crumbling. And when the lights go out, the government blames miners.

In the summer of 2024, nationwide blackouts hit hard. For four months, the government shut down all mining operations. They said it was because illegal miners were siphoning off 2,000 megawatts of electricity-enough to power a small country. Tavanir, Iran’s state power company, confirmed it. And they weren’t wrong. But here’s the twist: the biggest power thieves weren’t random guys with rigs. They were state-linked entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). One IRGC-backed mining farm in Rafsanjan, Kerman province, alone was using 175 megawatts-without paying a cent.

So now, legal miners pay premium rates. But those connected to the regime? They still get subsidized power through mosques, religious foundations, and military-run facilities. That’s the real problem. The system isn’t broken. It’s rigged.

How the Rules Keep Changing

The regulations don’t stay still. They shift like sand. In December 2024, the CBI blocked all crypto-to-rial transactions through online exchanges. For 23 days, about a million Iranians couldn’t buy Bitcoin to pay for groceries, medicine, or even fuel. People took to forums like Nama Blockchain to describe how they were stuck without access to their own money.

Then, in January 2025, the government unblocked payments-but only through government-approved APIs. That means every transaction is tracked. Every wallet is monitored. Every withdrawal is logged. The CBI now has unrestricted access to all crypto data in Iran. It’s not about security. It’s about control.

By February 2025, they banned all cryptocurrency advertising-online or in person. No more billboards. No more Instagram ads. No more YouTube influencers pushing mining rigs. Trustpilot reviews for Iranian crypto platforms dropped from 4.1 stars to 2.4 in just two months. Users were furious. They didn’t mind regulation. They minded being cut off from their own finances.

Who’s Really Running the Show?

There are two Irans when it comes to crypto mining.

One is the official one: licensed miners, government forms, electricity bills, and compliance officers. The other is the real one: IRGC-run farms, mosque-based operations, and hidden rigs in military zones. According to NCR-Iran’s 2025 report, state-affiliated entities control about 65% of Iran’s total mining capacity. That means most of the hash power isn’t coming from private businesses trying to follow the rules. It’s coming from the same people who make the rules.

Foreign investors are invited to join. The government says it’s open to international capital. But here’s the catch: you can’t operate without local partners. And those partners? They’re often tied to the IRGC. If you try to audit their operations or ask for financial records, you get blocked. Or worse.

Why It’s Getting Harder to Mine Legally

The energy crisis isn’t going away. If summer 2025 brings another heatwave and power shortage, expect another ban. The government has no long-term plan to upgrade the grid. Instead, they’re doubling down on control.

Miners now need to monitor three government agencies daily: the Central Bank, the Ministry of Industry, and Tavanir. One change in policy can shut you down overnight. Many small operators have quit. Others moved to special economic zones with dedicated power lines-but those zones are mostly occupied by state-backed miners.

Even the hardware you use is restricted. You can’t just buy any ASIC miner off Amazon. The government has an approved list. If your device isn’t on it, you can’t license it. And good luck getting one shipped into Iran with U.S. sanctions in place.

What’s Next? A State-Controlled Digital Rial

Iran isn’t trying to build a crypto economy. It’s trying to replace it.

The Central Bank is rolling out its own digital currency: the “Rial Currency.” It’s not Bitcoin. It’s not Ethereum. It’s not even decentralized. It’s just electronic rials, controlled entirely by the government. No mining. No blockchain. No anonymity. Just a digital version of the same currency that’s losing value every day.

Experts like AGSI say this wasn’t about bypassing sanctions. It was always about control. The original idea in 2018-that crypto could help Iran trade with the world despite U.S. sanctions-has been quietly dropped. Now, the goal is to track every transaction, stop capital flight, and replace any form of independent money with a state-run alternative.

Can You Still Make Money Mining in Iran?

Technically, yes. But the risk-reward ratio is terrible.

If you’re a small operator with a few rigs, you’re stuck between paying inflated electricity bills and the constant threat of a shutdown. If you’re connected to the regime, you’re probably already making money-off the books. For everyone else? It’s a gamble.

The market has shrunk. In 2020, Iranians traded $20 million in crypto daily. By mid-2025, inflows had dropped 11%. P2P trading on LocalBitcoins jumped 78% after the payment blockades, but that’s not mining. That’s survival.

The only real winners are the ones who never had to follow the rules.

What This Means for You

If you’re thinking about mining crypto in Iran:

• Don’t assume legality means safety. The rules change weekly.
• Don’t trust the official licensing system. It’s designed to filter out small players, not protect them.
• Don’t invest without a local partner who’s already in the system-and even then, expect to lose control.
• Don’t expect to cash out easily. The government controls every exit point.

The era of Iran as a crypto mining hub is over. Not because of technology. Not because of energy. But because the state decided it didn’t want to share power-with anyone.