Iran's relationship with the mining sector is not always positive. As it tries to ease the strain on the country's power supply, the government is again limiting the amount of coins that can be mined.
The spokesman for Iran's power industry said in an interview with state TV that electricity to all 118 government-authorized mining operators will be cut off from June 22.
A way for countries to circumvent trade embargoes is through the use of virtual currency. Iran is not allowed to access the international financial system because of the sanctions.
Iran has begun issuing licenses to miners, who are required to pay higher electricity rates and sell their mined Bitcoins to the central bank.
The country has stopped the operations of mining centers for the digital currency. During a time when electricity demand hit a record high, the government ordered two shut downs.
Iran had a boom in cryptocurrencies before the ban. In May last year, Elliptic estimated that 4.5% of all mining took place in the US. The ratio was down as of January.
In other countries, miners have refused to comply with regulators. Between July of last year and August of this year, the Chinese government cracked down on the mining of cryptocurrencies, leading to a decline in the number of coins in circulation.
The industry seemed to have come back quickly. The ratio of China to the US in January was 40%, second only to the US.
The rebound indicated that underground mining may have begun in China. Access to off-grid electricity and geographically scattered small-scale operations are some of the ways underground miners hide their operations from authorities.
The sudden drop and resurgence of China's hash rate further suggested that its miners might have been covertly operating right after the ban. They may have become less cautious about hiding their locations as time went on.
In Southeast Asia, a booming crypto scene
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