The Department of Industry, Mining and Commerce will soon lift restrictions on bitcoin mining imposed in May, the Financial Tribune reported. According to the Iran Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (Tavanir), miners in the country will restart their drilling rigs from September 22nd.
Tavanir spokesman Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi reportedly said the company expected total electricity consumption in Iran to decrease by the end of the summer. In this case, the Bitcoin mining ban enacted by the government in May would be lifted for regulated companies that use the national power grid to mine Bitcoin.
At the time, former President Hassan Rouhani said that unauthorized bitcoin miners were using a lot of electricity, around 2,000 megawatts (MW), which put a strain on the electricity grid, which sees significant demand during the summer months. In contrast, miners who have received government approval only use 30 MW of electricity.
The Iranian government announced in 2019 that it would regulate the mining industry by requiring bitcoin miners to obtain approval from the Ministry of Industry and pay for the electricity they consume based on export prices. According to the Financial Tribune, the state agency has since issued 30 licenses for Bitcoin mining operations. Semnan Province received the most and is home to six licensed mining operations, followed by Alborz Province with four operations.
With Iranian bitcoin miners back online in about a month, competitiveness will increase along with the overall hash rate of the bitcoin network. While the hash rate has already bounced back from China’s mining operations, it could hit new all-time highs if miners in Iran get the green light.
