Iran appears to be moving forward with its crypto mining industry, as President Hassan Rouhani is looking to integrate it into the country’s mainstream economy. According to an English translation from local news source ArzDigital, the president had asked several ministers to come up with a national strategy for the country’s cryptocurrency mining space.
Stabilizing the Mining Space
As the report explained, President Rouhani has tasked the ministries of energy, communications, and information technology, as well as the Central Bank of Iran, do develop different iterations of a national crypto mining strategy.
The source didn’t reveal much about the strategy, although it will most likely build on an industry that is taking shape. Iran incorporated cryptocurrency mining as an official economic sector last year, and the country’s mining space has made some waves across the world.
According to the Bitcoin Mining Map from the Cambridge University’s Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), Iran holds almost 4 percent of the global hashpower. The only countries with more are China, the United States, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia.
The government has provided effective subsidies to mining outfits, thus attracting more firms – local and foreign. Earlier this year, Iran’s Banking and Economic System Reference Media (IBENA) confirmed in a report that the country’s Ministry of Industries, Mining, and Trade had already issued crypto mining licenses to over 1,000 companies.
It’s been a whirlwind journey so far, and with a national crypto mining strategy, the government will most likely have a clear-cut set of guidelines to govern the space. It will most likely include aspects such as registration and licensing, taxation, operations, and much more.
Bitcoin Demand Rises
The strategy will also help the country improve cryptocurrency accessibility – something that citizens are beginning to clamor for. While Iran’s crypto mining space is taking shape, its traditional financial space isn’t doing so great. Iran already faces sanctions from the United States and has all but become a pariah among the international community members. With the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s economic troubles have compounded.
Earlier this week, the parliament officially sanctioned the redenomination of its fiat currency, the rial. It will complement the move with the issuance of a new currency, the toman. As a local news source reports, the parliament passed the ‘Reforming Monetary and Banking Law’ bill, effectively bringing in the toman – a currency worth about 10,000 rials.
The plan will effectively take four place values from the rial, thus potting the country on a long road to economic recovery. Sadly, this road doesn’t have a lot of success stories. Countries like Zimbabwe and Venezuela have attempted redenomination policies in the past amid skyrocketing inflation levels, and most have failed.
All of this has led to surging demand for Bitcoin. Earlier this month, Bitcoin’s price relative to the rial on peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange LocalBitcoins rose by as much as 300 percent.
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