The Iranian government will permit licensed cryptocurrency miners to resume operations today following a three-month ban enforced by former President Hassan Rouhani.
The initial ban was put into effect due to fears over the stability of the country’s unreliable power grid. The middle eastern country experienced widespread power outages in the summer, which former President Rouhani attributed to extreme heat.
In light of the power outages and a water shortage, It was decided to ban crypto mining during the heat to ensure citizens could keep their air conditioners running — although doubts have been expressed in some quarters about how much power crypto mining actually uses in the country.
4.5% to 7% of the world’s cryptocurrency mining is done in Iran. There are some rumours that suggests the country looks favourably on Bitcoin mining as a way to avoid sanctions from the United States. Iran presently suffers from a near-complete embargo by the USA, negatively affecting the nation’s economy.
Despite the ban, underground mining reportedly continued and on Wednesday news broke that Ali Sahraee, the director of Teheran’s Stock Exchange (TSE), had resigned after the state-run media reported that cryptocurrency mining was taking place at the exchange during the ban.
