Iran has continued a suspension of cryptocurrency mining, with Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri urging all licensed miners to stop operating as the country continues to suffer power outages, according to a report by U.Today that cited a Farsi-language tweet by the Tasnim News Agency.
Fast facts
- Jahangiri said the ongoing electricity supply problems could last until early August, and that the government was working to ensure that power would not be cut off in essential areas, according to the report.
- Jahangiri’s message accords with an earlier announcement by President Hassan Rouhani of a temporary mining suspension. In May, the president announced a suspension of crypto mining that would continue until Sept. 22. The ban was imposed because of power shortages.
- Some Iranians have taken to the streets in several cities, including Tehran, to protest against the ongoing blackouts over the past few months, as reported by Iran News Wire. Bloomberg reported that the government attributed the problem to a drought and to the crypto mining industry.
- Last month Iranian police confiscated 7,000 cryptocurrency mining machines from an abandoned factory in western Tehran, according to a report by state-owned news agency IRNA.