Iran Provides Licenses to 1000 Crypto Mining Firms

The Iranian Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has reportedly issued more than 1000 permits to cryptocurrency mining firms. This move came as a step towards combatting the high electricity tariffs that have been a bottleneck to the emerging cryptocurrency mining industry in Iran.

Talking about the potential of the crypto mining industry, Amir Hossein Saeedi Naeini, an Iran’s ICT Guild Organization official, said, “Our studies show that the crypto mining industry has the potential to add $8.5 billion to the economy.” He also said that the crypto mining industry could be given an upthrust by modifying the electricity tariffs, thereby generating more revenue for the Iranian economy.

Talking about the possible causes of small investors turning away from Iran, Naeni said that it is due to the high electricity tariffs in Iran and lack of proper incentives, that small investors who previously took an interest in cryptocurrency mining in Iran, were leaving for other neighboring countries. This caused a great loss for the Iranian economy. Therefore, the cryptocurrency mining industry has been sorting out ways to bring back the investors. Allowing more than 1000 permits for cryptocurrency mining firms is a leap towards that achievement.

While emphasizing on modifying the electricity tariffs in Iran, Naeni said,

the operating conditions in this industry should not be such that only large capitalists enter the cryptocurrency mining market but that all miners can operate.

The Cryptocurrency mining industry in Iran has been regulated since last year. After months of deliberation, the Iranian government has finally recognized cryptocurrency mining as a lucrative industry since August 4, 2019.