The Iranian government has officially recognized cryptocurrency mining as an industry and approved a mechanism to mine digital currencies.
An economic commission of the government is now trying to regulate the increasing Crypto Mining activities within the country’s borders, according to the official announcement by the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture on July 22.
“A mechanism to mine digital coins was approved by the government’s economic commission and will later be put to discussion at a cabinet meeting,” Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CIB), said.
Amid sanctions by the United States, Iran recorded a massive surge in cryptocurrency mining activities. Moreover, the subsidized electricity in the country also nurtured the industry and encouraged the setting up of more and more mining firms.
The growing electricity consumption by mining firms also became a concern for the government, and the energy minister recently proposed a new tariff scheme for cryptocurrency miners. Iranians currently pay around $0.01 per kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption. However, the proposed pricing for the crypto miners was not disclosed.
This plan is yet to be discussed and voted on by the ministers of the country.
Hostility towards crypto
Iranian authorities recently sized 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines from two illegally operated mining firms.
Though the country is aiming to streamline the digital asset mining industry, it is still unclear whether the officials will allow the use of crypto for Payments and other transactions.
In January, the CIB recommended a ban on the usage of digital currencies for domestic payments. However, the move faced resistance from the players involving in the industry.
Meanwhile, in India, the government is gearing up to ban all digital currencies. The nascent industry in the country is already suffering due to the unavailability of banking services and the proposed ban might uproot the industry from the country.
