Iranian authorities resume issuing licenses to mining companies

The Iranian government has resumed issuing licenses to cryptocurrency miners in accordance with the new regulatory framework regarding digital asset transactions.

Iranian Minister of Industry and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin said that now organizations involved in the production of crypto assets can again request permission for their activities. This was facilitated by a comprehensive law on cryptocurrencies approved last week, which also includes provisions for mining.

Amin clarified that before an organization can mine in Iran, it needs to obtain two licenses: one for an establishment that will give the company the status of a legitimate cryptocurrency miner, and one for carrying out activities so that the company can directly mine cryptocurrencies.

Mohsen Rezaei Sadrabadi, Secretary of the Government Cryptocurrency Working Group, added that mining centers can use mined cryptocurrencies to pay for imports. The Central Bank of Iran will become the main regulator of the cryptocurrency sector. At the same time, Sadrabadi noted that the industry should be controlled by several regulators, since the cryptocurrency ecosystem is much more than just digital assets.

Iran has repeatedly set restrictions on mining. In May last year, the country introduced a four-month ban on cryptocurrency mining, which was lifted in September. Then in December, Iranian regulators reintroduced a temporary ban on mining even for licensed companies due to extreme weather conditions and high electricity consumption.

Recall that in June 2021, Iranian law enforcement authorities confiscated about 7,000 cryptocurrency mining devices from an illegal farm, which was the largest seizure of mining equipment in the country.