نوع مقاله : علمی پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
Introduction
Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining has become an important legal and environmental issue because network security depends on continuous computational competition and, consequently, substantial electricity consumption. When electricity is mainly generated from fossil fuels, mining may increase greenhouse-gas emissions, place additional pressure on electricity generation and transmission systems, and indirectly increase water consumption and thermal discharges associated with power production and cooling. These concerns are particularly significant in Iran, where electricity-supply shortages, a carbon-intensive energy mix, regional water stress, and fragmented administrative responsibilities create additional environmental and regulatory challenges.
This situation raises a central question: can the environmental impacts of cryptocurrency mining be effectively controlled through a coordinated interpretation and enforcement of existing Iranian laws and regulations, or is the immediate adoption of a new comprehensive statute necessary?
This study evaluates the capacity of Iran's legal system to align cryptocurrency mining with environmental-protection requirements. It focuses on four interconnected areas: the use of renewable and clean electricity; electricity tariffs and energy-efficiency obligations; investment in efficient technologies; and the prevention of water-related and thermal pollution. It also examines how licensing, monitoring, and financial mechanisms can convert general legal duties into measurable and enforceable obligations for individual mining facilities.
Method
The research uses a descriptive-analytical and library-based method. It is based on documentary analysis of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, energy and environmental laws, national development plans, executive regulations, ministerial resolutions, and licensing rules relating to cryptocurrency mining. Particular attention is given to the constitutional duty to protect the environment, the Energy Consumption Pattern Reform Act, the Clean Air Act, the Sixth and Seventh Development Plans, Article 12 of the Law on Removing Barriers to Competitive Production, renewable-energy regulations, electricity tariffs for mining centers, environmental-impact assessment rules, and legislation protecting aquatic resources.
The relevant legal rules are examined as parts of an interconnected regulatory chain rather than as isolated provisions. For each area, the study identifies the competent authority, the legal obligation, the available economic or administrative instrument, the monitoring requirement, and the applicable enforcement mechanism. International experience is also used comparatively to identify practical regulatory options, including low-energy consensus mechanisms, renewable-energy supply, demand-response participation, conditional use of associated gas, immersion cooling, waste-heat recovery, environmental disclosure, and measurement, reporting, and verification systems. These experiences are evaluated in light of Iran's energy structure, climate, water limitations, and administrative framework.
Conclusions
The findings show that Iranian law already contains significant, although dispersed, legal capacities for reducing the environmental impacts of cryptocurrency mining. The main weakness is not the absence of legal authority but insufficient coordination among licensing, electricity supply, tariff setting, environmental approval, technical standards, and data verification.
Mining licenses should therefore be issued or renewed only when operators provide verifiable evidence of the lawful source and agreed share of clean electricity, environmental approval appropriate to the facility's scale and location, and an operational agreement defining maximum electricity load, curtailment duties, and continuous reporting. A coordinated procedure should connect the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, the Ministry of Energy and its affiliated bodies, and the Department of Environment while preserving their respective legal powers.
Electricity tariffs should also be based on environmental and technical performance rather than total consumption alone. Incentives and penalties may be linked to energy efficiency, carbon intensity, renewable-electricity share, compliance with peak-load restrictions, water consumption, and heat management. Facilities investing in renewable generation, verified efficiency improvements, or grid-support services should benefit from existing financial mechanisms, particularly those available under Article 12 of the Law on Removing Barriers to Competitive Production.
The environmental framework should further establish measurable standards for water withdrawal, water footprint, and thermal discharge. Permissible temperature changes in receiving waters should be numerically defined, and environmental approvals should require worst-case climatic and hydrological modelling, closed-loop or low-water cooling where necessary, and periodic monitoring. These obligations should be incorporated into operating and grid-connection permits.
Finally, major mining facilities should be subject to a uniform measurement, reporting, and verification system covering electricity consumption, energy source, carbon intensity, water use, cooling performance, and waste-heat management. Reliable and auditable data are essential for differentiated tariffs, inspections, accountability, and enforcement. Therefore, the immediate priority is not necessarily new legislation but coordinated enforcement of existing legal capacities through supplementary regulations, numerical standards, integrated licensing, and credible monitoring. New legislation would become necessary only if these measures fail to resolve persistent regulatory and enforcement gaps.
کلیدواژهها English
