Iran seems doubtful at its own stance on Crypto mining industry
Iran has announced that it will move forward with crypto mining, but only in extreme cases.
According to the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade (MIMT), new licenses will only be issued to mining farms that have electricity supply from renewable energy sources.
“The issuance of an operating license requires an electricity supply from renewable power plants,” said the ministry.
Ministry also added:
“Company license extension is not permitted for other distribution methods.
However, the number of cryptocurrency mining farms in the country is growing and problems related to energy shortages continue to exist.
The ministry suggested that the only way to curb illegal mining is to get energy from other sources and legalize those resources. Although there is no exact mentioned name of that renewable source.
In the future, local companies will be notified if there will be any changes to the rules, including whether or not to allow crypto mining using other forms of energy.
Last December Iran ordered the closure of approved cryptocurrency mining sites as part of efforts to reduce pressure on power plants and prevent blackouts.
At that time, more than 600 MW of electricity was used for illegal mining activities.
Tehran does not theoretically oppose crypto mining and MIMT has already issued more than 1,000 licenses for the legal crypto mining firms.
However, decades of US sanctions have led to a decline in investment in infrastructure of crypto mining based in Iran.
Cryptocurrency mining was officially approved by Iranian authorities in 2019 and thus setting up self-identification for miners, licensing to identify themselves and pay high tariffs on electricity, and selling mined bitcoins to the Central Bank of Iran, as previously reported.
Announcing a four-month ban on crypto mining, President Hassan Rouhani said blackouts were a common occurrence last summer.
Iran wants to increase its green base. Last October, the Ministry of Energy, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (SATBA) invited the private sector to assist in the development and construction of renewable power plants with a total capacity of 10,000 MW.
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