Iran Made the Decision to Lift Bitcoin Mining Ban 

Iran as well as other countries has the potential to support crypto mining companies. But the situation regarding Bitcoin mining is quite complicated in Iran. Hopefully, the government will once again allow crypto miners to operate in the country from the last week of September. The Iran Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (Tavanir) made that decision know earlier this month. 

The spokesperson of Tavanir made a comment regarding the Tavanir’s decision. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi stated that the company hoper power generation will decline by the end of the summer creating conditions for the operation of legal digital currency miners.  

This spring, the country’s former president Hassan Rouhani ordered a blanket ban on all crypto mining operations until the end of summer. The country’s president wanted to ease the mounting pressure on the national grid and prevent blackouts. 

High consumption is just part of the problem as the unregistered bitcoin miners damage the power distribution systems. As the situation deteriorated in 2021, Tavanir started shutting illegal crypto mining centers to prevent shortages and safeguard the national network. The police in the country’s capital Tehran reportedly confiscated over 7,000 rigs from illegal mining operations across the city. 

Iran and Bitcoin 

The country’s government authorized crypto mining as an industrial activity back in July 2019. Nevertheless, miners were required to acquire a license from the Ministry of Industries and pay their electricity bills based on export rates. In 2020, authorities issued about 1,000 licenses to crypto miners in the country.

Authorities in Iran also granted a license for crypto mining company iMiner to operate in the country in 2020. Nonetheless, the country’s government appears keen to localize its crypto mining sector. The parliament’s commission on economy drafted a bill regarding cryptocurrencies. The goal of the bill is to restrict the use of cryptocurrencies within the country. It also wants to provide a more understandable legal framework for crypto miners. Lawmakers also proposed to ban the use of “foreign-minced” cryptocurrencies in the country.

While the country’s relationship with Bitcoin is far from being ideal, the country’s government wanted to make money thanks to cryptocurrencies. But the summer ban might serve to make the target unattainable, for 2021 at least. So, if authorities in Iran want to develop bitcoin mining, they should work with local crypto companies to address various issues.