Sanctions-Hit Iran A ‘Heaven’ for Bitcoin Mining, Says Gov’t Official

Iranian authorities are wrestling with the rising number of citizens turning to Bitcoin mining and use as a means of coping with a sanctions-crippled economy.

Iran’s minister for information and communications technology, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, told the Associated Press (AP) that the country has become “a heaven for miners,” according to a July 18 report. He noted:

“The business of ‘mining’ is not forbidden in law but the government and the Central Bank have ordered the Customs Bureau to ban the import of [mining machines] until new regulations are introduced.”

An ailing economy fuels cryptocurrency production and use

In the wake of toughened U.S.-led sanctions, Tehran is now facing the specter of hyperinflation. Oil export revenues have tanked by almost 90%, new data reveals, unemployment is veering close to 20% and millions are working below national poverty-line estimates. 

As AP reports, subsidized electricity rates — currently at half-a-cent per kilowatt…