[2020-07-30] Power plants in Iran can mine Bitcoin

[LeGaulois]

As the title says, the authorities in Iran authorized the power plants to mine Bitcoin

Of course, they won't spend 100% of their activity to mine cryptos or it will be too huge; they're surely looking for an alternative revenue and avoid U.S. economic sanctions (by the way they have heap electricity there $0.01/KWH)

power plants in the country could operate as Bitcoin mines “if they comply with approved tariffs" and have the necessary licenses.

I don't get this, power plants are owned and operated by the state there(?), (not like in some countries where it's done by private companies). So they need to grant the licence to themselves, it doesn't make sense to me.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/iranian-authorities-greenlight-power-plants-mining-bitcoin
https://news.bitcoin.com/power-plants-in-iran-authorized-to-mine-bitcoin/

I remember this country where also looking to create a "muslim coin" with other muslim countries (who want to parnter with Iran, not even muslim countries). Look like Iran is more and more looking at cryptocurrencies for alternatives currencies against the dollar supremacy.

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[Lucius]

Iran clearly sees an opportunity to ease its sanctions at least a little, and since they have very cheap electricity, they use exactly what Bitcoin allows - the right of everyone to use it anywhere in the world, without asking for someone's opinion or permission. If the memory serves me well, I read that about 30 Iranian companies use Bitcoin in their business, and I'm glad about that - although those who imposed sanctions will not agree with that, but that is their problem.

I don't get this, power plants are owned and operated by the state there(?), (not like in some countries where it's done by private companies). So they need to grant the licence to themselves, it doesn't make sense to me.

I understand this in a way that power plants are owned by the state that leases part of their capacity to private investors. The article states that the largest Turkish miner is also has or has had a license in Iran, which leads me to the conclusion that they are still looking for private investors.

[Betwrong]

Iran clearly sees an opportunity to ease its sanctions at least a little, and since they have very cheap electricity, they use exactly what Bitcoin allows - the right of everyone to use it anywhere in the world, without asking for someone's opinion or permission. If the memory serves me well, I read that about 30 Iranian companies use Bitcoin in their business, and I'm glad about that - although those who imposed sanctions will not agree with that, but that is their problem.

I don't get this, power plants are owned and operated by the state there(?), (not like in some countries where it's done by private companies). So they need to grant the licence to themselves, it doesn't make sense to me.

I understand this in a way that power plants are owned by the state that leases part of their capacity to private investors. The article states that the largest Turkish miner is also has or has had a license in Iran, which leads me to the conclusion that they are still looking for private investors.

Not only they(state) lease some parts to private investors, but there are many plants that are owned by private sector already. I think it's happening according to some plan conceived years ago:

For years it has been the country's position to privatise 80% of all power plants.

And here's the most recent info in this regard:

Head of Iran's Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Management Company, known as Tavanir, says 60 percent of the country’s power generation capacity has been created by the private sector funding and more investment is being made in this sector.

Contrary to popular belief, private sector is huge in Iran. It's not like in the former Soviet Union where absolutely every plant, with no exceptions, was solely owned by the state.

[LeGaulois]

@Betwrong

You're right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatisation_in_Iran#Utilities

All domestic power plants will be privatised gradually, except those the government feels it should run to ensure security of the national electricity grid. Power plants of Damavand, Mashhad, Shirvan, Kerman, Khalij-e Fars, Abadan, Bisotoon, Sanandaj, Manjil and Binalood, which have been turned into public limited firms, are ready for privatisation.[59] As of 2010, 20 power plants were ready for privatisation in Iran.[60]

 When I was trying to find out about it I found the agency "Atomic Energy Organization of Iran" and it says (AEOI) is the main Iranian government agency responsible for operating nuclear energy and nuclear fuel cycle installations in Iran, and I thought it was only this agency. The problem is, I only checked on one nuclear power plant wikipedia page... (Bascher or a name similar)

Still, the most important thing is to use the nuclear energy to mine Bitcoin, it's a pretty clever thing to do considering nuclear energy cannot be stored.

[pixie85]

They must be producing a lot of power that would otherwise go to waste.

Most power plants around the would could do the same but they aren't because the demand for power is high and they can make money selling it instead of buying hardware and taking on additional costs and unneeded risk.

There was a private investor who bought an old power plant to mine Bitcoin. I wonder how he's doing 

[Darker45]

Still, the most important thing is to use the nuclear energy to mine Bitcoin, it's a pretty clever thing to do considering nuclear energy cannot be stored.

Are these articles referring to Iran's nuclear power plants to mine Bitcoin? I don't think they are.

Iran's power plants are largely generating electricity from natural gas and oil, both of which are very abundant in their country, that's why electricity is cheap and subsidies are generously provided. Nuclear power generates only as low as 2% of electricity in the country.^[1] Which brings me to doubt that such is the particular source that would be made available for Bitcoin miners.

[1] https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-g-n/iran.aspx#:~:text=Iran%20produced%20308%20TWh%20gross,2%25)%20from%20nuclear%20power.

[bbc.reporter]

I reckon that bitcoin might cause more problems on Iran than a relief. America might sanction bitcoin addresses and use blockchain analytics to trace where their coins go and it might also cause more problems on the services where the coins might be sent.

They should mine a Cryptonote coin.

[YOSHIE]

As the title says, the authorities in Iran authorized the power plants to mine Bitcoin.

Although currently Iran & America are heating up, the Iranian government is still doing the best for Bitcoin miners.

As far as I know about this policy, Iran for now has a potential mining industry Bitcoin, What's even better about electricity tariffs is that it includes the cheapest data in the world, so when compared cheaper than other countries, like Indonesia, when compared to electricity tariffs in Indonesia around $ 0.1 per kWH, whereas Iran is only 0.01 per kWH.

The plus: for Bitcoin miners, the lower classes can applaud at the moment in Iran, they can use electricity happily.

[Harlot]

I remember this country where also looking to create a "muslim coin" with other muslim countries (who want to parnter with Iran, not even muslim countries). Look like Iran is more and more looking at cryptocurrencies for alternatives currencies against the dollar supremacy.

Not only this but Iran actually tried to turn their heads in the opposite direction about the crypto industry. From what I know some Chinese miners shifted their operations from China to Iran because they have cheaper electricity which will make them earn more profit. I actually right what they are doing right now since they have seen their cheaper electricity and used it as an advantage for attracting foreign miners to migrate their operations to their country. I doubt though that this will be the end of it as from what I am seeing they have big plans surrounding the crypto industry so it might be more than just mining it.

[howhurry72]

I have a question about cost per KWH. Bitcoin mining depends on energy costs among other things such computing/processing equipment. I would like to know what the break even point is for the cost in cents/KWH. By way of experience does anyone have some level for the cost/KWH that is a threshold for profitable crypto mining, possibly for different coins, or at least the major coins???

[LeGaulois]

I have a question about cost per KWH. Bitcoin mining depends on energy costs among other things such computing/processing equipment. I would like to know what the break even point is for the cost in cents/KWH. By way of experience does anyone have some level for the cost/KWH that is a threshold for profitable crypto mining, possibly for different coins, or at least the major coins???

With the electricity price in China and the 'average' equipment, I suppose the BEP is about $5-6,000 currently. There are websites that you can use to calculate the mining profitability depending on the power and hash rate (i.e. https://www.coinwarz.com/cryptocurrency).

You can surely find more stuffs in the Mining board

[bryant.coleman]

I guess Iran is having surplus electricity and petroleum, since they can't sell their crude oil as a result of the UN embargoes and sanctions. Most of the financial transactions using fiat cash are monitored by international agencies and therefore it is not easy to indulge in cross-border trade. At this point, Bitcoin will be one of the few options available for the regime, to circumvent the sanctions. But if they use Bitcoin for this purpose, then we can expect the US authorities attempting to prevent that loophole.

[Harlot]

I guess Iran is having surplus electricity and petroleum, since they can't sell their crude oil as a result of the UN embargoes and sanctions. Most of the financial transactions using fiat cash are monitored by international agencies and therefore it is not easy to indulge in cross-border trade. At this point, Bitcoin will be one of the few options available for the regime, to circumvent the sanctions. But if they use Bitcoin for this purpose, then we can expect the US authorities attempting to prevent that loophole.

It's all about making various source of income for them and in any case for any country who wants to maximize their resources in order to make profit. I don't see this as a bad move at all and they are actually attracting foreign investors going in the country, like what I have said in an earlier post here Chinese miners actually move out from China and move to Iran just because they have cheaper electricity. Other than that I have seen that they have loosen some restrictions when it comes to the crypto industry in their country making them more attractable for crypto related businesses to run their operations there.

[bryant.coleman]

It's all about making various source of income for them and in any case for any country who wants to maximize their resources in order to make profit. I don't see this as a bad move at all and they are actually attracting foreign investors going in the country, like what I have said in an earlier post here Chinese miners actually move out from China and move to Iran just because they have cheaper electricity. Other than that I have seen that they have loosen some restrictions when it comes to the crypto industry in their country making them more attractable for crypto related businesses to run their operations there.

This is not going to be easy. As far as I know, Iran doesn't have any facilities which produce Bitcoin mining rigs. They need to import them from China, and this is not possible due to sanctions.  And also, the Chinese miners can't just move from China to Iran. That is also not permitted. And even if they get the necessary permission, moving all the giant-sized mining farms to Iran may be a very costly and time consuming process.

[Lucius]

As far as I know, Iran doesn't have any facilities which produce Bitcoin mining rigs. They need to import them from China, and this is not possible due to sanctions.

As far as I know, there are no sanctions between China and Iran, do you think that these two countries should listen to what the US or some other country tells them? On the contrary, these two countries are developing cooperation in all segments - Iran has oil which it sells to China at a reduced price, while China will reciprocate by investing in dozens of different projects in Iran. If Iran wanted that, I don't think mining equipment would be a problem.

Iran and China have quietly drafted a sweeping economic and security partnership that would clear the way for billions of dollars of Chinese investments in energy and other sectors, undercutting the Trump administration’s efforts to isolate the Iranian government because of its nuclear and military ambitions. The partnership, detailed in an 18-page proposed agreement obtained by The New York Times, would vastly expand Chinese presence in banking, telecommunications, ports, railways and dozens of other projects. In exchange, China would receive a regular — and, according to an Iranian official and an oil trader, heavily discounted — supply of Iranian oil over the next 25 years.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Something fishy here. In the past 3-4 months I have heard similar news from Venezuela as well. Now you may ask what is the similarity between the middle-eastern nation of Iran, and the Latin American republic of Venezuela. The main similarity is that both of them are facing sanctions from the United States. Anyway, I am not complaining. Any sort of publicity and adoption is good for Bitcoin.

[bbc.reporter]

I guess Iran is having surplus electricity and petroleum, since they can't sell their crude oil as a result of the UN embargoes and sanctions. Most of the financial transactions using fiat cash are monitored by international agencies and therefore it is not easy to indulge in cross-border trade. At this point, Bitcoin will be one of the few options available for the regime, to circumvent the sanctions. But if they use Bitcoin for this purpose, then we can expect the US authorities attempting to prevent that loophole.

Agreed. Iran should mine Monero, I reckon. The hardware for mining is easier to obtain, the transactions are hidden and the price is very cheap. There is certainly more benefit for them.

[bryant.coleman]

I guess Iran is having surplus electricity and petroleum, since they can't sell their crude oil as a result of the UN embargoes and sanctions. Most of the financial transactions using fiat cash are monitored by international agencies and therefore it is not easy to indulge in cross-border trade. At this point, Bitcoin will be one of the few options available for the regime, to circumvent the sanctions. But if they use Bitcoin for this purpose, then we can expect the US authorities attempting to prevent that loophole.

Agreed. Iran should mine Monero, I reckon. The hardware for mining is easier to obtain, the transactions are hidden and the price is very cheap. There is certainly more benefit for them.

FBI is trying hard to find a bug, so that they can trace back the XMR transactions. As far as I know, they had little success so far. But the biggest issue in using Monero is not the concern about anonymity, but the liquidity of that coin. XMR is not listed in a lot many exchanges, and even in those exchanges where it is listed, the liquidity can be quite low. That said, there is always the option of exchanging it through P2P platforms.