After Iran experienced a nationwide blackout in late May, due to crypto mining operations, the country has banned cryptocurrency mining for four months until September. Recently, the Iranian Parliament prepared a bill to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies and added regulations to provide more security.

Iranian lawmakers have drafted a bill that “supports cryptocurrency mining and organizes the domestic market for exchanges”. This will prevent excessive consumption of energy, greater than the supply, and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) will be the primary regulatory body for the domestic exchange of cryptocurrencies.

Another section of the bill indicates that domestic crypto miners will be controlled by the Ministry of Industry. The miners must have a license to conduct their mining operations and must apply for permission from the Energy Ministry, in order to set up and run the power plants required for their operations. This will prevent another power failure from happening in the future.

Aside from this, another new bill restricts the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment, and any type of transaction involving crypto within the country, and focuses on providing clearer legal regulations for miners. Knowing that Iran has a cheap electricity supply, this is a good opportunity for miners, but bad news for crypto users.

The ban will continue until September 22, 2021. However, those who have the necessary permit to operate, such as industrial crypto miners and licensed miners, are allowed to continue their operations.