Heatwave in Iran: Energy Ministry bans cryptomining for now

Iran apparently has a huge problem with its national energy supply. Now the Middle Eastern country is pulling the ripcord and setting priorities. Not represented on the list of priorities is the nationwide hobby of cryptomining. Although the miners in question have government authorization to produce cryptocurrencies, they will no longer be allowed to waste electricity on their work for the time being.

Ministry of Energy worries about power supply

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have long been a thorn in the side of more than just aged financial experts who focus on safety-oriented investments. On top of that, they are considered a real climate sin by environmentalists. This assessment is anything but unfounded. After all, the production through so-called cryptomining eats up a lot of electricity, which makes for a huge carbon footprint. Just how much energy the currencies produced with the help of powerful graphics cards consume is now becoming clear in Iran. Here, the energy ministry fears for the power supply, which is why the cryptominers are to be cut off without further ado. According to a report from the news portal Bloomberg, the power outage with advance notice is to apply from Wednesday and affect a total of 118 experts in the field of cryptomining.

Behind this is the massive heat wave currently affecting the vast Middle Eastern country. Due to temperatures between 30 and 40 degrees, the Ministry of Energy expects a rapid increase in energy consumption. In particular, the expected power consumption of the air-conditioning systems is causing a forecast of 63 gigawatts in power consumption. There are not enough reserves to allow cryptomining to continue. A look at the latest consumption figures caused by the mining of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies makes it clear why. For example, by the end of 2021, authorized miners were causing a whopping 200 megawatts of consumption in Iran.

Some question marks remain

However, the issue also raises some questions. For one, it is surprising that the energy company is not releasing consumption figures on cryptomining this time. After all, the authority could use this to underpin its strict approach. Was there possibly a strong growth here? Furthermore, we do not yet know how long the ban will remain in place. What is certain is that Iran is also putting its reputation as an El Dorado for cryptominer at risk with its temporary ban. After all, an increasing number of hunters for the digital coin have settled in the Islamic republic in recent years.

It is not only the miners themselves who benefit from this. On top of that, Bitcoin and Co. are an attractive opportunity for the country to undermine the tough sanctions imposed by Western countries. The USA in particular has imposed sanctions, some of them severe, on the Middle Eastern country in recent years. The main reason for this was Iran’s controversial nuclear program. But the whole thing also has its dark side, as is not only now becoming clear. After all, the Ministry of Energy already had to declare a mining ban for the summer last year.

Cryptomining only six months a year now?

The same applies to the Iranian winter, which itself regularly comes along with sub-zero temperatures. Accordingly, the heating season also puts a lot of strain on the energy system and leaves little room for cryptocurrency mining. The so attractive sounding invitation to Iranian cryptomining does not sound so good anymore in view of a ban in summer and winter. Here, sooner or later, one has to ask oneself whether it is really worth it with currently ever declining prices of Bitcoin.