Iran Banned Mining During Summer

President Hassan Rouhani announced a general seasonal ban on cryptocurrency mining on state television on Wednesday, according to a Bloomberg report. Thus, the nationwide mining stop will be in effect until September. A prerequisite for this is that the government hopes to provide the population with sufficient electricity during the hot summer months, when significantly more electricity is used than in winter.

In his address, President Rouhani said that up to 85% of cryptocurrency mining in Iran is unauthorized. Previously, the government actively acted against private miners using electricity that is actually intended for the population. In early 2020, Iran began regulating the mining industry. In January last year alone, almost 1,000 licenses were issued to mining companies.

First of all, the industry is in bad shape because cryptocurrency mining is associated with massive blackouts in Iran. Chinese investors were only able to bring one of the country's largest mining centers back into operation in April, after earlier criticism had been voiced that the mining farm was consuming a significant portion of local energy consumption.

Image:Asia Times