Bitcoin mining in the East
A report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has found out that the regulated mining industry in Iran may be piling up as much as $1 billion in revenues. Iran has been under a lot of scrutiny because of its nuclear program. The United States has placed trade embargos on the country effectively crippling its already struggling oil economy.
The economy of Iran is almost wholly dependent on the export of oil and petroleum products. The sanctions and economic embargo have pushed the country into a recession with staggeringly high levels of unemployment and inflation. However, as the world observes a shift with the rise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, Iran may have found itself a problem to its solution.
The report revealed that Iran accounts for 4.5% of the total Bitcoin operations which has earned the country a ton of money – all used to tackle the problems caused by the trade embargoes.
The Elliptic report furthered that a lot of developments in the crypto sphere in Iran had been with the help of Chinese investors. China has had a very strict stance on cryptocurrencies which has led to investors injecting their money into other economies like Iran. The financial committee in China has announced a total crackdown on Bitcoin mining in the country. This is the first time the committee has outrightly spoken against crypto mining. It has added Bitcoin mining as a crucial sector to watch and monitor in order to mitigate financial risks.
The news from China broke out as Bitcoin, once again, fell over 12%. The king of the cryptocurrencies had started off on brutal market corrections as Tesla CEO denounced the use of Bitcoin as a mode of payment for Tesla’s electric cars.