A new regulation written by the Iranian Parliament Commission on Economy tries to limit the use of crypto coins within the nation while imposing a more explicit structure for miners. As per a report, the lawmakers’ bill is dubbed “Support for cryptocurrency mining and organizing the domestic market for exchanges,” and it was first announced on June 23rd. If passed, the law would make Iran’s central bank the regulatory authority for the exchange of crypto assets in the country.
Under the regulation, all crypto coins could be banned within the country for payments except for a ‘national’ one – supposedly a central bank digital currency or tokens minted by the private sector. Still, the statement could also refer to crypto mined by licensed firms within Irna, as the Central Bank of Iran has announced previously that it was trying to ensure all digital currencies traded in the nation are mined from local farms.
The proposed regulation would also officially have crypto mining under the regulatory scope of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, enabling it to grant licenses for mining farms. Licensed mining companies with partial or complete control of a power plant could apply with the Energy Ministry to sell off any extra electricity.
Crypto mining as an industrial operation has been legal in the country since 2019 as long as the miners are licensed and controlled as per the government’s wishes. Still, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced in May of this year that mining operations would be banned until September. The government has reportedly been stepping up their raids on miners tapping into the power grid as Iran faces enhancing demand for energy in the summer months.
Last month, Rouhani said the country needed to legalize cryptocurrency to preserve and safeguard national interest at a meeting of his cabinet’s Economic Coordination Board. The president wanted a joint study between agencies in capital markets and news to determine a legal framework for crypto coins.
