The “mining superpower” is now blaming Bitcoin for the failures of a neglected power grid.
Although Iran is plagued by inflation and cryptocurrencies are increasingly becoming a real alternative in the country, the Iranian mining industry is increasingly coming under fire and is now being blamed for power outages itself.
As Cointelegraph had reported, Iran is next to Pakistan the „mining superpower“ in the Middle East, which is because the electricity costs in the country are subsidized by the state
In addition, Bitcoin mining was recognized as an „industrial activity“ here last year , which gave the industry an additional boost. It is estimated that there are more than 1,000 companies in Iran that are registered as mining companies.
However, the industry is not really a bed of roses, because the supervisory authorities have repeatedly cracked down on illegal mining companies in recent months . To make matters worse, the Bitcoin prices in Iran are significantly higher than in the rest of the world because the demand here is particularly high due to the weak local currency.
Now there is another point of contention, because there have recently been repeated massive power outages in large urban areas
On January 16, the Iranian media reported that there were power outages in large parts of the country. A look at social media shows that there had been repeated failures before and after this date, although in some cities these even lasted two weeks.
The authorities then blamed Bitcoin , which is why there were increased raids against mining companies. However, observers believe that the government is taking these measures to divert attention from its own failings.
Even the former environment minister Kaveh Madani hits this notch in an interview with the Associated Press, because he sees Bitcoin as a scapegoat „an easy victim“. Rather, “decades” of political failure would be the real reason.
Although the government currently grumbles on Bitcoin, it is the cryptocurrency apparently not tired, because only last month they had used them to import payments from Venezuela unwind .
Although the „love“ between Iran and Bitcoin is currently going through a minor crisis, this episode is not over yet.