Iranian miners may lose government electricity subsidies

Iran’s energy minister, Homayoun Haeri, said that the energy used by cryptocurrency miners should be paid at regular rates and not subsidized by the government.

The Iranian government spends about $ 1 billion in electricity subsidies in the country, with Iranian households paying only a small portion of the real cost of electricity. If the minister’s request is granted, miners will face higher electricity bills.
In Iran, mining is not encouraged by the government, but the popularity of this trend continues to grow, given the relatively low electricity tariffs in the country. The sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran also prompted citizens to obtain and trade cryptocurrencies.

Recently it became known that, despite cheap electricity, Chinese miners are facing problems in Iran. In particular, due to the huge subsidies for electricity, the Iranian government has added energy-intensive mining devices to the list of prohibited products.

According to a CoinShares study, 74% of bitcoin mining is done using renewable energy. At the same time, regulators around the world are trying to set rules for the industry. For example, in April, the Canadian energy regulator issued new rules for miners, according to which they will be allocated additional power.