Only one license to manage a crypto mining center was given to Tehran Province, which is home to Iran’s capital.
Last Wednesday, Iran’s Ministry of Industries, Mining, and Trade approved operating permits for 30 crypto mining centers in the country, according to the country’s Financial Tribue.
According to the report, Iran’s Semnan Province acquired the most permits, with six crypto mining farms now authorized to operate in the region, according to data on the ministry’s website.
The provinces of Alborz, Mazandaran, East Azarbaijan, and Zanjan each received four permits. Only one permission to operate a crypto mining center was apparently issued to Tehran Province, which houses the country’s capital.
The ministry also awarded 2,579 permits for new industrial crypto mining units across the country, with Zanjan Province receiving 305 of them. Zanjan is followed by Fars Province and West Azerbaijan, with 262 and 247 licenses, respectively.
An operating license is required for Iranian enterprises to start a lawful crypto mining business, according to the article. Within 12 months, eligible candidates must get establishment licenses and set up their industrial unit, after which they must apply for an operating license.
Cryptocurrency mining is legal in Iran, according to the report, since miners are permitted to operate under laws established by the government in July 2019.
The news comes after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced in late May a blanket ban on Bitcoin mining in the country until September as a measure to alleviate pressure on the national power grid. Subsequently, last Tuesday, Iranian provincial police confiscated more than 7,000 mining rigs at a farm operating in the capital of Tehran. The crypto mining farm was referred to as the largest, most significant drain on the country’s energy usage.
According to the Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, more than 188,000 units of crypto mining equipment have been seized over the past 12 months.
These devices reportedly resulted in 180 trillion rials ($4.2 billion) in losses to the national grid and power distribution equipment.
