Unlicensed Crypto Mining in Iran: How the IRGC Controls the Industry

When Iran’s power grids fail and homes go dark for days, the lights in certain secret facilities stay on-bright, constant, and running nonstop. These aren’t hospitals or military command centers. They’re crypto mining farms, owned and operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), siphoning off enough electricity to power entire cities while ordinary Iranians struggle to keep their refrigerators cold or charge their phones.

How Crypto Mining Became a State Weapon

Iran’s cryptocurrency mining boom didn’t start as a tech trend. It began as a survival tactic. After U.S. and European sanctions cut off Iran’s access to global banking systems in the 2010s, the regime needed a way to move money without banks. Bitcoin, with its decentralized network and minimal oversight, became the perfect tool. But instead of letting ordinary citizens mine it, the IRGC took control.

By 2020, the IRGC had already built massive mining operations, mostly in remote provinces like Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan. These weren’t backyard setups. They were industrial-scale farms with tens of thousands of ASIC miners-specialized computers designed to solve complex math problems and earn Bitcoin. One facility in Rafsanjan alone consumed 175 megawatts of power. That’s more than some small countries use.

The IRGC didn’t just buy these machines. They got them cheap, often through Chinese suppliers who ignored international sanctions. Then they connected them to power lines that were never meant for mining. Electricity in Iran is heavily subsidized, but only civilians and licensed businesses are supposed to get it. The IRGC? They bypassed the rules entirely.

The Two-Tiered System: Who Gets Power, Who Doesn’t

In Iran, there are two kinds of crypto miners: the ones who pay and the ones who don’t.

Private miners must register with the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade. They pay high electricity rates-sometimes more than $0.10 per kilowatt-hour-and are forced to sell their Bitcoin directly to the Central Bank of Iran at a fixed price. Most can’t make a profit. Many shut down.

Meanwhile, IRGC-linked operations operate with zero oversight. They don’t pay bills. They don’t need licenses. They don’t even need to report their earnings. Some of these operations are hidden inside military bases. Others are disguised as religious foundations, like Astan Quds Razavi, a massive charitable trust controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. These entities don’t just mine crypto-they own the power plants that feed them.

In 2022, Iran’s parliament quietly passed a law letting the military build its own power grids. That meant the IRGC could now divert electricity meant for Tehran’s hospitals and factories straight into their mining farms. The result? Cities like Isfahan and Mashhad now suffer 8- to 12-hour blackouts during winter, while IRGC mines run 24/7.

How Much Is the IRGC Making?

No one knows the exact numbers. Iran doesn’t release official data. But experts estimate there are around 180,000 mining devices operating in the country. Roughly 80,000 belong to private citizens. The rest-up to 100,000 units-are controlled by state-backed entities.

Each ASIC miner consumes about 3,000 watts per hour. Multiply that by 100,000 machines, and you’re looking at 300 megawatts of continuous power demand. That’s enough to power 2 million Iranian homes. And since electricity costs the IRGC next to nothing, their profit margins are astronomical.

Bitcoin prices fluctuate, but even at $30,000 per coin, these operations generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The money doesn’t go into Iran’s national treasury. It flows into IRGC-controlled accounts, used to fund proxy militias in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. U.S. Treasury reports and Israeli intelligence have traced Bitcoin transactions from Iranian mining farms directly to Hezbollah and Hamas wallets.

The Energy Crisis Is No Accident

Iran’s energy crisis isn’t caused by drought or aging infrastructure alone. It’s engineered.

The country’s electricity grid was never designed for crypto mining. Most power plants are coal- or gas-fired, and they’re already running near capacity. When mining farms demand more power, the grid collapses. Hospitals lose backup power. Factories halt production. Students can’t study after dark.

Energy Minister Ali Abadi, a former IRGC commander himself, publicly called unlicensed mining “an ugly and unpleasant theft.” But his words carry little weight. He once led the IRGC’s economic wing. He knows exactly how the system works-and who benefits.

In 2024, the Central Bank of Iran tried to crack down. They blocked all local cryptocurrency exchanges from converting Bitcoin to rials. But by early 2025, they quietly reopened the gates-for select, government-approved traders. The new system uses a government-controlled API that tracks every transaction. This isn’t about stopping crypto. It’s about controlling it.

How Iranians Are Fighting Back

Ordinary Iranians still mine crypto. But they do it in secret. Some hide rigs in basements. Others use solar panels to avoid the grid. Many use VPNs to access foreign exchanges like Nobitex, bypassing Iranian restrictions entirely.

But the risks are high. In 2023, Iranian authorities raided homes in Tehran and confiscated over 5,000 mining rigs. Owners were fined, jailed, or forced to hand over their Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the IRGC’s operations grow larger, with new farms reported in Qom and Yazd.

The message is clear: if you’re not connected to the state, you don’t get to profit.

Why the World Should Care

This isn’t just Iran’s problem. It’s a global one.

Crypto mining is supposed to be decentralized. But in Iran, it’s become the most centralized form of digital money in the world-controlled by a single military organization with ties to terrorism. Every Bitcoin mined by the IRGC could be funding violence abroad. Every kilowatt stolen from Iranian homes is a stolen chance at a normal life.

Western governments have targeted IRGC-linked Bitcoin wallets. The U.S. Treasury has frozen accounts tied to mining operations. But these actions are reactive. They don’t stop the machines from running.

The real solution? Pressure on the countries supplying the hardware. China still exports thousands of ASIC miners to Iran every year. Turkey and the UAE serve as transit points. Until global supply chains are shut down at the source, the IRGC will keep mining, keep stealing power, and keep funding war.

What’s Next for Iran’s Crypto

Iran’s government won’t ban crypto mining. It’s too profitable. Instead, it will keep tightening control. More state-owned mining farms. More military-run power plants. More bans on private miners.

By 2026, experts predict over 70% of Iran’s crypto mining will be under direct IRGC control. Private mining will be nearly extinct. The energy crisis will worsen. And the world will keep watching as a military force turns electricity into weapons.

The irony? The very technology meant to free people from centralized control is now being used to lock them in.