As the summer’s harsh heat has receded, crypto mining has been approved, as it can no longer be blamed for straining the electrical supply.
Iran’s government will allow licensed cryptocurrency miners to begin operations Monday, three months after former President Hassan Rouhani announced a three-month moratorium on May 26th, 2021.
The initial restriction was imposed in response to concerns about the country’s fragile electrical grid. Summer saw major power disruptions in the Middle Eastern country, which former President Rouhani attributed to excessive heat. On some days, the temperature soared above 120 degrees Fahrenheit or about 49 degrees Celsius.
Due to power disruptions and a water deficit, Rouhani decided to prohibit crypto mining throughout the summer to ensure citizens could keep their air conditioners running — however, others have expressed reservations about how much power crypto mining truly consumes in the country. The crypto mining restriction has been repealed in anticipation of Ebrahim Raisi entering office as President on August 3rd, 2021.
Iran accounts for between 4.5 percent and 7% of global bitcoin mining. Iran has among of the lowest electricity prices in the world, owing to plentiful fossil fuel resources such as natural gas.
According to some accounts, the country favors Bitcoin mining as a means of evading US sanctions. Iran is currently subject to a near-complete US embargo, which is wreaking havoc on the country’s economy. Elliptic via Reuters estimates revenues to be around $1 billion at currently expected levels of mining in Iran.
Despite the prohibition, underground mining apparently persisted, and on Wednesday, Ali Sahraee, the director of Teheran’s Stock Exchange (TSE), resigned following reports in state-run media that cryptocurrency mining was occurring at the exchange throughout the suspension.
TSE leadership initially disputed the operation’s existence, but executive deputy director Beheshti-Sarsht eventually admitted that the TSE should be held accountable.
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