The vice president of Iran, Eshaq Jahangiri, announced an official government decree designed to tighten its control over the growing crypto mining industry and throw out illegal operators in the country. According to the directive, all crypto miners have to register their identity with the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade. Crypto miners must also disclose the number and type of equipment used to mine digital currencies. Officials have given crypto miners one month to comply with the new order.
Iranian government plans to tighten crypto mining regulations.
The Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade will publish a list of sanctioned mining facilities that block reward miners must use if they intend to operate within the country. The crypto miners in Iran may apply for an activity license, and all licensed mining centers must register the delivery receipt on their system. However, government orders did not specify the penalties for failing to comply with the new measures. Currently, most of the crypto mining activities happen in China. Earlier, an industry report revealed that Iran had issued over 1,000 block reward mining licenses.
Iran embraces crypto mining as it faces economic sanctions from the USA.
Iran embraced the crypto mining industry in an attempt to evade the economic impact of the US sanctions put in place by the Trump administration. In 2018, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani allegedly even thought of launching a central bank-backed digital currency. According to Bitcoin Mining Map, Iran already has roughly a 3.5% share of BTC’s total hash rate. Iran is a top market for BTC mining as the country granted over 1,000 block reward mining licenses. Many of which have gone to China mining operators flooding in searching for even cheaper electricity prices inside the energy-rich nation where electrical costs are state-subsidized.
