The Need to Criminalize the Possession of Miners in Iran (Comparative Study)

Cryptocurrency; a term that has become very common in Iran in recent years, has led many people to invest in cryptocurrencies, and in particular, Bitcoin, through various means, even selling their property. Another way to obtain these currencies is to extract them from a special device for this purpose called a miner. In this regard, the vast majority of countries have enacted laws to control this currency with the entry of Bitcoin into the world trade arena; however, the Iranian legislator has not yet enacted a law in this regard to approve or disapprove of this measure. In this article, which has been compiled using the library study method, an attempt has been made to identify the effects that cryptocurrency mining has on the environment and suggestions have been made to change the legislator's approach regarding the need to criminalize this phenomenon. In general, it can be said that in terms of the irreparable effects that cryptocurrency mining can have on the environment, the legislator should distance himself from his passive approach and, at least at the present time, criminalize the maintenance and extraction of miners.