Unlike Europe and America, the Middle East did not fully consent to cryptocurrency trading at the very beginning. It took a while for countries in the region to accept and legalize crypto trading fully, but once it did, the decision had proved to be the right one for the region. Citizens of countries like Iran, Pakistan, and a few others have turned to cryptocurrency to maximize profit. Iran citizens particularly have turned to cryptocurrency to survive amid high inflation and economic turmoil ravaging the Middle East.
Crypto mining farms lose power
Pakistan has propelled the building of the cryptocurrency mining industry in the Middle East. Since then, the Asian nation has been joined by a host of other countries in the region, including Iran. Like Pakistan, Iran has offered advantages like low-cost electricity and cheap power to Bitcoin mining. Not until recently approved Bitcoin mining is now well-positioned at the top in the region with about 10,000 registered farms for Bitcoin mining.
Unfortunately, the approved activities have now been threatened by power outages and police raids. Many miners have now come out to complain that despite the approval to mine coming barely months ago, their activities have been threatened of late. The general power outage suffered in the country on 16th January 2021, which left many industries and crypto mining farms helpless amongst others, has also been described as a threat to the crypto farmers’ activities.
The country’s authorities have also shut down more than 500 illegal farms they claimed were operating without proper licensing and regulatory control. Most of the crypto mining farms that were cut off were beneficiaries of the country’s low-cost power program for miners. However, the decision to shut them down was fuelled by a need to reduce the burden on power by illegal entities.
Entities in Iran think Bitcoin mining is responsible for power outages
Several authorities and bodies in the Asian country have come out to criticize the mining activities of Bitcoin as a reason behind the unstable nature of power in the country, suffered of recent. Other citizens also argued that the power outage suffered on the 16th, alongside some additional days in the country, was blamed on the country’s terrible power grid, which had not been rehabilitated in years.
The high consumption power of Bitcoin mining is being blamed and labeled a scapegoat by authorities because it is the easiest thing to do, according to Kaveh Madani, the country’s former deputy of environmental affairs. Madani does not expect the situation to threaten the presence and activities of the cryptocurrency, which had better the lives of the citizens of the country by providing them alternative means of earning.
The country’s stance on Bitcoin is also not in question as it had used its trade internationally recently with Venezuela. However, authorities in the country must improve their power supply for the crypto miners in the country in a bid not to stall or halt their activities.
