The Iranian government will allow licensed cryptocurrency miners to resume operations today following a three-month ban imposed by former President Hassan Rouhani on May 26, 2021. The initial ban was put into effect due to concerns 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. On some days, the heat topped 120 degrees Fahrenheit, or nearly 49 degrees Celsius. Middle East and Central Asia are under the harshest heat wave in history for this time of the year. In #Iran 51.0C …

Ali Sahraee, the chief executive officer of the Tehran Stock Exchange since 2018, has reportedly resigned after the discovery of cryptocurrency mining rigs in the building. According to a report from the country’s state-run media, the Islamic Republic News Agency, Tehran Stock Exchange, or TSE, market vice president Mahmoud Goudarzi will be leading the company following the departure of Sahraee. The change in leadership seems to be the result of “a number of miners” being discovered in the basement of the TSE building located in the district of Sa'adat Abad. The TSE reportedly initially denied the existence of the miners, …

Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade reportedly dismissed claims by leading power company Tavanir that blamed illegal cryptocurrency miners for the ongoing power shortages in the country. According to a report by the Financial Tribune, Alireza Hadi, the ministry’s director of investment and planning, said that the figures announced by Tavanir “seem to be highly exaggerated.” Hadi questioned Tavanir’s claims that illegal mining activities consume 2,000 megawatts of power. “This amount would equal power used by 3 million pieces of hardware,” he said. While mining cryptocurrency has been legalized by the Iranian government, Tavanir blames unregistered miners for nationwide …

Iran will once again allow Bitcoin and crypto miners to operate in the country from the last week of September. According to a report by Iran’s Financial Tribune, Tavanir, the country’s power generation organization, made the decision known earlier in August. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Iran’s government banned Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto mining operations back in May. At the time, the decision was reportedly made to prevent miners from overburdening the grid during the hot summer months. Indeed, Bitcoin miners have been blamed for incessant blackouts and power shortages in Iran. Such has been the extent of the problem …

The Iranian National Tax Administration (INTA) is pushing to establish a legal framework for the taxation of crypto trading platforms operating in the country, according to a new proposal by the country’s tax authority. Two months after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s call for a legal framework for crypto trading, INTA reportedly detailed the necessity of legalizing digital asset exchanges in a proposal quoted by the local media. Reminding Iranian regulators that a legal framework is required for levying taxes, INTA said that the government should only allow authorized exchanges to convert currency while keeping track of transactions. The tax authority …

Iran’s challenge with the ever-increasing electricity consumption has reached new heights, leading the country to halt electricity exports. Abuzer Salihi, general manager of Iran’s electricity distribution company Tevanir, announced on state television that it has reduced electricity exports to zero “so that there is no problem in electricity supply in the country.” He said that the electricity supply to Afghanistan’s Herat province, which imported 70% of its electricity from Iran, completely stopped in order to meet domestic needs. According to the numbers shared by Tevanir, the daily electricity demand reached over 65,000 megawatts, while production is around 54,000 megawatts. Aside …

Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran under Hassan Rouhani, has called on all legally operating crypto miners in the country to stop producing coins. According to a Wednesday report from the Tasnim News Agency, Jahangiri said at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Energy that the electricity restrictions for Iranians were likely to continue until early August, purportedly in line with Rouhani’s previously announced prohibition on crypto mining. The president said in May that crypto mining would be banned in the country until September in an attempt to conserve power during the summer months. “We will …

A new bill drafted by the Iranian Parliament Commission on Economy aims to restrict the use of cryptocurrencies within the country while providing a clearer legal framework for miners. According to a Friday report from the Tasnim News Agency, lawmakers drafted a bill titled “Support for cryptocurrency mining and organizing the domestic market for exchanges,” which the country’s parliament first announced on June 23. If passed, the legislation would make Iran’s central bank the regulatory authority for the exchange of cryptocurrencies in the country. Under the bill, all cryptocurrencies could be prohibited within Iran for payments except for a "national" …

Iran’s Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade issued operating licenses for 30 crypto mining centers in the country, the country's Financial Tribue reported last Wednesday. Citing data from the ministry’s website, the report says that Iran’s Semnan Province received the most licenses, with six crypto mining farms now authorized to operate in the region. Alborz Province secured four such licenses, followed by Mazandaran, East Azarbaijan and Zanjan Provinces. Tehran Province, which houses the country’s capital, reportedly received only one license to operate a crypto mining center. The ministry also issued 2,579 establishment permits for new industrial crypto mining units across …

Iranian provincial police are continuing their crackdown on crypto miners big and small, with news surfacing that they have confiscated more than 7,000 rigs at a farm operating in the capital of Tehran. According to a Tuesday report from the country’s state-run media, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), police seized crypto miners that were operating out of an abandoned factory. Experts on the country’s electrical grid estimated that the miners operating at full capacity would amount to roughly 4% of the average daily energy consumption in Iran. Tehran police chief Hossein Rahimi said authorities had found another 3,000 crypto …

The Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran has blocked the activities of the Iran Blockchain Community (IBC), but the association claims they still haven’t received direct notice. The Social Affairs Organization of the Ministry required reports on IBC’s financial performance and dealings with cryptocurrency exchanges via a notice posted in local newspaper Hamshahri Online last week, according to local sources. Over the weekend, the ministry blocked the association’s activities, but IBC spokesperson Sepehr Mohammadi, who is also the CEO of one of two crypto exchanges listed as sponsors of the association’s website, said no verbal or written …

Iran is looking for ways to introduce a legal framework for cryptocurrencies, while Bitcoin (BTC) mining remains under embargo in the country. During the cabinet’s Economic Coordination Board meeting on Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani emphasized the need to legalize cryptocurrency activities to preserve and protect national interests. Rouhani said the country must pay attention to the legal and technical requirements regarding crypto and digital currencies. Noting the risks of cryptocurrency trading, Rouhani stressed that people’s awareness in this field is necessary to avoid unprofessional entries: “For legalizing the activity of cryptocurrencies and protecting people’s capital in this area, we …