Expert: US-Iran conflict could shock the BTC network

A potential military conflict between the U.S. and Iran could send a shockwave through the entire Bitcoin network, as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is using BTC mining as a key tool to evade sanctions. This is according to financial analyst and geopolitical writer Shanaka Anslem Perera in a post on X. Perera explained that Iran, leveraging electricity subsidies, can mine one BTC for just $1,320, securing a 50-fold margin at current market prices. He noted that there are 700,000 mining rigs in the country consuming 2,000 MW of power, which is a primary cause of rolling blackouts for civilians. "Although 95% of these rigs are illegal, the IRGC is behind them, operating without paying electricity fees," Perera stated. He added that Iran accounts for 2-5% of the global BTC hashrate, meaning one in every 25 blocks mined serves as a funding source for the IRGC. He warned that a U.S. military operation targeting Iran's power grid could wipe out 30-50% of the country's electricity generation, halting most mining activities. "This would cause the global hashrate to plummet, delay block generation times, and cause transaction fees to surge, shocking the cryptocurrency ecosystem," Perera concluded.