Energy Minister in Iran: Bitcoin Miners in the Country Will Not Be Subsidized Anymore

Crypto miners in Iran are about to face a very rough time. They could get considerably higher electricity bills in case the current Energy Minister of the country goes forward on his latest idea: to stop charging lower electricity to these companies.

According to the Financial Tribune, a local newspaper, the minister Homayoun Haeri has come up with the idea that crypto miners should be charged with real prices, not special ones.

The government spends around $1 billion USD in electricity subsidies of many kinds, however, they feel as if the miners are using this to their advantage as they are using very high intensive energy procedures.

Because of the very low cost of mining in Iran, the market continues to grow exponentially. The sanctions imposed by the U. S. are also a big hassle for the government, as many people started to mine Bitcoin in order to escape them and they end up using more electricity this way.

Foreign Investors Mine In Iran

Another part of the problem is that foreign investors often mine in the country. The local blockchain researcher Nima Dehqan, for instance, has affirmed that several investors from countries such as Spain, Ukraine and Armenia, as well as France have been interested in the local market.

This way, this creates a scenario in which foreign crypto investors use the local cheap electricity without actually offering any kind of counterparty for the government and the local population, they just use the electricity for their own good.

Iran’s electricity is cheaper than $0.01 USD per kilowatt-hour, being really cheap when compared to most countries in the world.

Before the current time, Iran has previously demonstrated a rather positive stance on crypto mining. Last year, the country has recognized crypto mining as a legitimate industry and, as the country received several sanctions, Bitcoin looked like the way out.

Other countries such as China are also interested in banning cryptocurrencies. The country has already banned Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), for instance, and several other related crypto activities.

In related news, the government has been considering the idea of launching its own state-backed token. Last year, it was revealed that a draft was already being created under instructions of the president Hassan Rouhani.