The current status of cryptocurrency in Iran raises a lot of questions. While not officially banned, there are a fair few restrictions which apply in the country. It now seems cryptocurrency miners will need to adhere to new rules in the near future. Although not an official law just yet, there will be some interesting changes regardless.
More Data Aggregation
It is not entirely surprising to learn the Iranian government wants to know more about what makes crypto miners tick. More specifically, they want to know about the business activities of miners, as well as the value of current and future investments, their employment status, et cetera. One interesting aspect is the “duration of the mining project”, which may be a tough question to answer.
As is the case with Bitcoin or altcoin mining, overall market conditions play a key role. If prices plummet, there will be a time when mining is no longer viable, from a financial point of view. That said, the mining operation can resume when the momentum improves. Cryptocurrencies are very volatile, thus answering how long one will be mining for is a lot more complicated than officials may think.
Sustainable Mining?
As part of this new initiative, it also appears the Iranian government is intent on further legitimizing cryptocurrency mining in the country. Anyone engaging in this type of activity already needs to register with the local government. Combine with the ongoing subsidization of electricity in the country, it isn’t impossible to see a sustainable mining industry being created in the years ahead.
This move could also serve a secondary purpose. Centralization is a major problem in the world of Bitcoin and altcoin mining. In Iran, that is not necessarily the case, albeit there are concerns some regions will attract more miners compared to others. Putting new rules in place to even out the distribution of this mining hardware could be an option for government officials to explore as well. It would also prevent local power grids from being overloaded, as mining Bitcoin remains an electricity-intensive process first and foremost.
Underground Mining Will Remain
As promising as the efforts by the Iranian government may prove to be, one has to wonder what their overall impact will be. It seems unlikely that underground mining will cease to exist. In fact, it might become even more popular if the rules – based on the current draft – are effectively enforced. Not everyone is comfortable with sharing so much personal information which may or may not affect their crypto mining operation moving forward.
Assuming that is the case, there is a chance government officials will create a new task force to crack down on this type of underground activity. All they need to do is locate where the power is drawn from the grid and check it out accordingly. That would be similar to how such “raids” are organized in most countries across South America. A very interesting future lies ahead in Iran, albeit the exact “framework” remains rather unclear at this time.
