Iranian crypto miners ordered to halt in spite of licensing

The Vice President of Iran, Eshaq Jahangiri, called for all legally operating crypto miners in the country to cease production

Jahangiri allegedly said that the electricity restrictions for Iranians were likely to stay in place until early August, according to a report from the Tasnim News Agency. He said this during a meeting at the Ministry of Energy where he met with several officials. This is not the first we’re hearing about crypto mining being prohibited as the President had insisted on a ban until September to conserve power during the summer months.

“We will ensure that the electricity will not be cut off in essential and important places,” said Jahangiri. “Licensed miners must also stop production altogether.”

A regulatory framework for mining has existed in Iran since 2019, although as many as 7,000 unlicensed miners have been reported to be illegally tapping into the country’s electricity grid. The Iranian government has been raiding these homes and shut down their operations, seize their equipment and fine the homeowners.

Restrictions on electricity use in Iran has continually been restricted, and the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor & Social Welfare, Mohammad Shariatmadari, said that he lost power in his home for two hours.

Prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies not mined within Iran’s borders as a means of payment has also been suggested. The Iranian Parliament Commission on Economy also proposed a bill that would make the country’s central bank the regulatory authority for the exchange of cryptocurrencies in the country and officially place crypto mining under the regulatory purview of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade.

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