Iran, which was considered by many as one of the cheapest crypto mining country has now approved crypto mining as an official currency. The government which has been a strong critic of crypto mining announced through Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and agriculture. But one hurdle Iran would be facing is to keep mined crypto inside the country in order to save the country’s sinking economy.

Abdolnaser Hemmati, the governor of Iranian central bank (CBI) said about the announcement:

A mechanism to mine digital coins was approved by the government’s economic commission and will later be put to discussion at a Cabinet meeting.

Governor of the central bank had announced earlier that mining operations may be legalized under proper channel in July. He had claimed last month that a draft law was in place for the authorization of crypto mining in Iran.

Hemmati was one of the biggest supporters of the law, he said that the government should support these miners and should not let mined bitcoin get out of the country, rather the mined bitcoin should be used inside the country to strengthen the already weakened economy. The commission headed by Elyas Hazrati worked on the draft law, Hazrati said in the last meeting of the commission:

We do believe that cryptocurrency industry should be recognized as an official industry in Iran to let the country take advantage of its tax and customs revenues.

Crypto Mining Took a Hit in Iran:

Just last month, the Iranian Ministry of Energy had suspended all crypto mining operations in the country following a surge in electricity usage in the past year. The crypto mining industry was in limbo in Iran since the news, however it was promised by the minister of energy that the country will resume mining operations following the passing of the new energy prices act. The new prices just got finalized on 21st July by the commission and the very next day the official induction of crypto as an industry in the Iranian chamber of commerce and industry.

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The Energy Minister Homayoon Ha’eri did not specify the exact scheme of the prices, but he did say that the price will now be dependent upon the fluctuating oil prices in the Persian Gulf. Before this, the Iranian government was giving more than $1 billion in subsidies to energy providers to provide energy to the consumers at a subsidized rate.

The import of cryptocurrency mining equipment was also prohibited by the Iranian customs administration, but Deputy President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Jamal Arounaghi announced yesterday that the import of such equipment has not been legalized yet even though the government has given legal tender to all mining operations.

The deputy president also said that the IRICA has not received any direct orders from the Iranian government as of yet, as soon as the government gives them a green light the IRICA will legalize the import of such equipment, which was otherwise being smuggled into Iran through the Iraqi and the Afghanistan border.

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