Iran Considers New System of Annual Registration for Crypto Miners

Iran’s cabinet is looking into a proposal to register cryptocurrency miners on a year-to-year basis.

According to documents reported by Coindesk on Sept. 19, a draft proposal to register crypto mining operations is currently on its way to official approval in Tehran. The proposed licenses would require information on employment, rent agreements and other business activities. 

The requirements seem designed to allow the Iranian government to curtail unsavory activities related to crypto while continuing to profit from an industry thriving in a country facing international sanctions and inflation — economic factors that have resulted in a rise in national misery.

Status of crypto in Iran

Recent months have seen a great deal of hubbub surrounding the Iranian government’s attitude towards cryptocurrency within its borders. 

In June, Iran’s Ministry of Energy said that they would be cutting off power to mining operations using the country’s subsidized energy grid until special pricing went into effect. A month later, that special pricing was finalized, with miners expected to pay $0.07 per kilowatt-hour, compared to $0.05 for most citizens. 

Subsequently, at the end of July, Iran authorized mining as an industrial activity. And while the Iranian cabinet rejected the use of cryptocurrencies in transactions at the beginning of August, Iran’s National Tax Administration did agree to exempt repatriated crypto mining earnings from taxation last week.