WANA (Jan 24) – Widespread internet disruptions in Iran turned into more than a communications crisis; they became an event with tangible energy and financial consequences—one whose footprint was visible not only in Iran’s power grid but also in global cryptocurrency market data.

 

As online access was restricted and the crackdown on illegal Bitcoin mining farms intensified, a portion of hidden electricity consumption suddenly vanished from the grid. Its absence was recorded, unexpectedly, at the heart of one of the world’s most decentralized financial infrastructures.

 

Estimates by a government-affiliated body suggest that at least 1,300 megawatts of baseload demand disappeared within a short period—roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of a mid-sized Iranian city. For a power network that has long struggled with imbalances between supply and demand, this abrupt decline was significant.

 

The impact, however, did not stop at Iran’s borders. During the same timeframe, global cryptocurrency data pointed to a noticeable drop in the Bitcoin network’s hashrate.

 

Total computational power fell from around 450 exahashes to approximately 406 exahashes—a decline of nearly 10 percent. For a network renowned for its wide geographic distribution and operational resilience, such a sharp fall over a short period is far from routine.

 

The implicit message of this coincidence was clear: a substantial share of Bitcoin’s computational power had gone offline in a location that rarely appears prominently in official global statistics.

 

Unofficial and government estimates indicate that Iran accounts for roughly five percent of global Bitcoin mining. While this share may seem modest at first glance, in a market where each percentage point can shift billions of dollars in capital, network security, and the balance of power, it is a consequential figure.

 

According to official data, between 700,000 and 800,000 unauthorized mining devices are operating in Iran, spread across some 70,000 to 80,000 large and small farms, most of them functioning outside the legal framework. This underground network alone consumes between 2,000 and 2,400 megawatts of instantaneous power—comparable to the output capacity of two units of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

 

These developments unfolded against the backdrop of widespread internet shutdowns in Iran starting on the evening of January 8, following what authorities described as organized attacks on certain government, law enforcement, and administrative facilities. Officials cited the need to maintain security and prevent the spread of unrest as the rationale for the decision.

The Internet Black Market in Iran

WANA (Jan 22) – According to field reports, following severe restrictions on access to the international internet, a complex and high-risk black market has emerged in Iran. This phenomenon, moving beyond a mere technical issue, signifies the formation of a deep digital divide and the institutionalisation of structural injustice in access to information, which stands […]

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