The Iranian president calls for the launch of a cryptocurrency mining strategy

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for a mining strategy across the oil-rich nation. The latest statements by the Iranian president follow Iran’s moves to restrict specific crypto platforms from “currency smuggling” mandates.

On May 20, 2020, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the press that the country must spur a cryptocurrency mining strategy, for the country to thrive economically amid US sanctions. Reports from the Arzdigital regional news agency claiming that Rouhani told his administration to begin devising a cryptocurrency mining strategy for Iran as soon as possible.

Rouhani said the energy department, the country’s central bank, and the finance minister must devise a new scheme that welcomes bitcoin miners. This includes Iran’s regulatory policy towards mines located in the country and taxes.

Iran recently recognized cryptocurrency mining operations as an official industry last year. Iranian officials have already issued licenses to farms that are willing to cooperate with Iranian governments.

In January 2020, it was reported that Iranian lawmakers authorized over 1,000 mining operations in the country. In the summer months of 2019, Iran accounted for 2% of the entire global hashrate of the Bitcoin network. Since then, however, the recent migration has meant that Iran now holds 4% of the total hashrate according to statistics.

Rouhani’s statements are a bit confusing after the Iranian government made it more difficult for international cryptocurrency exchanges to operate in partnership with the country. This week, the Iranian parliament released a proposal that aims to curb “currency smuggling” by increasing the rules for international cryptocurrency exchanges. Essentially, the Iranian parliament wants Iran-based exchanges to be licensed and required to follow currency smuggling warrants.

Speculators assume that Iran is trying to prevent funds from being spent overseas and wants to crack down on capital outflows by putting pressure on Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges to work with international operations. Iran, despite being heavily sanctioned by the US, is thriving due to cryptocurrency innovation and encouraging the mining industry to migrate to the region.

The data show that mining companies in Iran pay $ 0.01 to $ 0.05 per kilowatt hourly rate. However, during certain times of the year, the Iranian government said that electricity tariffs could change for mining operations when electricity demand is high.

What do you think of President Hassan Rouhani’s statements about encouraging an Iranian mining strategy? Let us know in the comments below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Cambridge University mining heat map,