Iran has announced it may participate in Bitcoin mining activities at industrial-scale power plants in the country.
Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, vice president of Iranian power generation, transmission, and Distribution Management Company Tavanir, explained that power plants in the country can work for Bitcoin mining if they comply with approved tariffs and have the required licenses.
Mashhadi said the power plants involved in such an initiative could not use subsidized fuel for crypto mining.
He continued by saying:
“We are in a situation where electricity supply is of great importance to the public. We cannot allow tariffs on agriculture and the arts industry to be used to produce Bitcoin when its value is over $9,000.”
Everything is related to the energy
After crypto mining was approved as industrial activity in July 2019, the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mining and Commerce created a thousand licenses for crypto mining.
A spokesman for the electricity industry said 14 crypto mining companies in Iran had claimed more than 300 megawatts of power, equivalent to the use of three sites in the country.
The tariff imposed on crypto miners in Iran is based on market factors such as fuel prices in the Middle East. Mining requires a lot of energy, but the country’s electricity is fairly cheap compared to the rest of the world. Mashhadi estimates that the cost of producing a Bitcoin in 2019 is just $1,400.
