Chinese miners are going to Iran to mine Bitcoin, says Iran’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology. Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, made the comments last weekend following a state visit to China on the topic of digital economy but claimed he had no concrete evidence.
Reports had come out in the press months ago about the movement of miners to Iran. This is down to the cheap electricity available in the nation. Iranian electricity costs just 5c per watt. This is just five percent of the price per watt of energy compared to other nations. Jahromi alluded to this in his comments, saying:
“A major part of cryptocurrency mining used to be done in China before Iran became attractive for miners…There is no evidence of the activity the Chinese in Iran although I have heard it unofficially.”
Some have suggested that the Chinese government may be behind this movement but Jahromi was quick to deny any involvement. He said:
“The Chinese government has no plan to be present in the field of cryptocurrency mining in Iran,”, adding, “However, China’s private sector and people may have been involved in this area.”
The comments come after the Iranian national grid attempted to thwart crypto mining in the nation. This was after an unusual spike in electricity. Around 1,000 mines were seized and a crackdown was made on the industry in the country.
Yet, as Asia Crypto Today reported, mining is still active with mosques having mining machines. Not only that but, pictures from Jinse also appear to show an Asian man pictured, who could be from China, potentially illustrating Jahromi’s point.
Central Bank official reiterates crypto trading ban
Another government official also commented on the crypto industry this week. Nasser Hakimi, deputy governor for new technologies at the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), claimed that trading cryptocurrencies are illegal under the Supreme Council of Combating and Preventing Money laundering and Financing of Terrorism Crimes.
The Central Bank official made the comments on Tasnim News as well as warning Iranians of the dangers of pyramid schemes and false advertising. However, this could all change in the future as Iran looks to become more accepting of digital currencies.
This is down to the numerous US sanctions that have caused major problems to their national currency, the Iranian Rial. Yet, the US is also interfering in this too according to Iranian Assistant Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply. Saeed Zarandi said the US Congress is actively seeking to block their attempts to circumvent sanctions by creating a national cryptocurrency.
