Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president of Iran under Hassan Rouhani, has called on all legally operating crypto miners in the country to stop producing coins.<\/p>\n
According to a Wednesday report from the Tasnim News Agency, Jahangiri said at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Energy that the electricity restrictions for Iranians were likely to continue until early August, purportedly in line with Rouhani\u2019s previously announced prohibition on crypto mining. The president said in May that crypto mining would be banned in the country until September in an attempt to conserve power during the summer months. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe will ensure that the electricity will not be cut off in essential and important places,\u201d said Jahangiri. \u201cLicensed miners must also stop production altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crypto and Bitcoin (BTC) mining as an industrial activity has been legal in Iran since 2019 as long as the miners are licensed and regulated accordingly. However, many unlicensed miners \u2014 some with just a few rigs, and\u00a0one with as many as 7,000 \u2014 have been illegally tapping into the country\u2019s electric grid, seemingly forcing authorities to raid homes and shut down operations.<\/p>\n
Related: <\/em><\/strong>Proposed bill in Iran could ban all foreign-mined cryptocurrencies<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As the crackdown progresses, Iranians continue to report restrictions on electricity use. On Tuesday, Mohammad Shariatmadari \u2014 the minister of cooperatives, labor and social welfare \u2014\u00a0said the power was cut off in his home for two hours. Iranian authorities who discover crypto miners using their household\u2019s energy to power rigs may fine the homeowners or seize the equipment. <\/p>\n There has also been a push by some lawmakers to prohibit the use of payments with cryptocurrencies that were not mined within Iran’s borders. Last week, the Iranian Parliament Commission on Economy proposed a bill that would\u00a0make the country’s central bank the regulatory authority for the exchange of cryptocurrencies in the country and\u00a0officially place crypto mining under the regulatory purview of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade.<\/p>\n