Iran has announced a 4-month temporary ban on the mining of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum after several cities suffered blackouts and power-shortages. The ban is effective immediately, and lasts until September 22nd, 2021. In a cabinet meeting, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the power shortages are due to a drought that has severely affected hydro-electric power generation alongside a natural gas shortage, and that cryptocurrency mining is draining over 2GW from the grid a day. Iran's Power Generation and Distribution Company (TAVANIR) said that licensed mining facilities have already voluntarily shut down their operations.

Currently, an estimated 4.5% of all Bitcoin mining takes place in Iran. Although the country officially legalized cryptocurrency mining in 2019 and established a licensing system that required miners to pay higher prices for electricity and sell digital coins to the Central Bank of Iran, officials estimate that about 85% of all mining is currently unlicensed. President Rouhani said that there are about 50 licensed mining farms in Iran, using about 300MW of electricity.

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