Iran’s Bitcoin Miners Resume Operations

According to the Iranian regime, certified cryptocurrency miners will be able to restart operations as of today, after a three-month suspension issued by previous President Hassan Rouhani on May 26th, 2021. The first restriction was imposed owing to worries about the integrity of the country’s unstable electrical system, which was causing worry.

Excessive heat was blamed by former President Rouhani for frequent power disruptions in the country’s middle-eastern region during the summer months. On several days, the temperature reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is almost 49 degrees Celsius.

Rouhani made the decision to ban crypto mining during the summer heat because of power outages and a water shortage. This was done in order to ensure that citizens could keep their air conditioners running — although there has been some debate about how much power crypto mining actually consumes in Iran.

The crypto mining prohibition has been removed as a result of the cooling of the climate and the inauguration of Ebrahim Raisi as president on August 3, 2021. Iran is believed to be responsible for 4.5% to 7% of all bitcoin mining in the globe. The fact that Iran has among of the lowest power costs in the world, owing to the abundance of fossil fuel supplies such as natural gas, may come as no surprise.

The nation, according to some sources, is interested in Bitcoin mining as a means of evading United States sanctions on the cryptocurrency. Iran is presently subjected to a near-complete economic blockade by the United States, which has a detrimental impact on the country’s economy.

Elliptic, in a report published by Reuters, estimates that Iran’s mining industry generates profits in the region of $1 billion at present levels. In spite of the prohibition, illegal mining is said to have continued, and on Wednesday, it was announced that Ali Sahraee, the director of Teheran’s Stock Exchange (TSE), had resigned after reports in the state-run media claimed that cryptocurrency mining was actually happening at the exchange while the ban was in effect.

Initially, the TSE’s leadership denied the existence of the mining operation, but subsequently, executive deputy director Beheshti-Sarsht acknowledged that the TSE should be held responsible for the activity and called for an investigation.