Those who have followed the world of cryptocurrencies for quite some time will remember that there was a time when news of an imminent cryptocurrency ban in Iran was on the agenda; in this specific case, however, this was not a simple FUD, indeed the country has long considered to impose a general ban on the circulation of encrypted coins.

More recently, however, with the escalation of international tensions, Iran has realized that bitcoin, in addition to being many other things, is also a great way to circumvent the sanctions imposed by the US; as a result, in August 2019, it became clear that the air was changing when Iran regulated the mining industry.

It is news today, reported by the local press agency Financial Tribune, that the ministry of industry has already come to issue over a thousand licenses that allow as many mining farms to carry out their activities in an absolutely legal way in the country.

This is particularly interesting precisely in light of the evolution that the sector has had, Iran, in fact, has always been one of the best countries in the world in which to carry out mining, thanks to the low cost of electricity; this, however, has generated a whole series of problems because for a long time the mining of cryptocurrencies has been carried out in an abusive way, meaning with this not only that this activity took place without there being an adaptation to the devices of the current law but that the the electricity needed to mine was stolen beautifully.

The theft of electricity to be used in mining is a problem that is becoming more and more widespread and, as for many other things, the best way to deal with it and regulate the mining activity, in this way allows those who work in the sector to get involved. perfectly in order; if, in fact, the activity is regulated, the miners are incentivized to abandon illegal practices (such as theft of electricity) because operating legally is simply more advantageous.

Exactly this demonstrates the Iranian case and it seems that, finally, even the authorities have become aware of it; beyond this, the benefits of the sector for the country's economy are far from negligible, as Amir Hossein Saeedi Naeini, a senior official of the ICT Guild (the main organization of the country representing the private companies that operate in the information technology sector), who in an interview stated that:

Our studies show that the cryptocurrency industry has the potential to add 8.5 billion dollars in our economy; however, high electricity tariffs and strict regulations have made the sector less attractive to small investors. 

The government, in fact, makes electricity available at discounted prices for families and businesses, while it sells to mining farms at export prices; despite this, as mentioned, from August to today it has already issued more than a thousand licenses to operate in the mining sector, which means that despite electricity costs of more mining cryptocurrencies, it still remains a profitable activity in Iran.

However, Naeini said he was convinced that the government should return to this decision because the high electricity costs make it possible that only those with large capital can operate in the mining sector, while making mining less onerous, it could also be possible to operate in the sector. to ordinary citizens, making the activity sustainable also for small miners, with systemic benefits for the whole economy of the country.

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