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Given govt. green light, power plants embark on cryptocurrency mining:
Following the Iranian government's approval of cryptocurrency mining as an industrial activity last year, numerous companies started mining cryptocurrency across the country thanks to the extremely low-cost electricity, and now Iranian power plants started to see this industry as an opportunity to increase their revenues.
In January, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade issued 1,000 plus licenses for cryptocurrency mining units.
With cryptocurrency mining taking a toll on Iran's electricity industry, energy authorities voiced concerns about the enormous pressures exerted by such activities on the electrical grid, so some power plant companies proposed to offer their excess electricity exclusively to the cryptocurrency miners.
In order to reduce the pressure on the national grid, the government agreed to the proposal but said the power plants will not be able to benefit from the government subsidies on their fuel supplies.
In July, the Energy Ministry's Spokesman for the electricity sector Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi announced that Power plants were also allowed to mine cryptocurrencies.
Rajabi Mashhadi said that entities have to apply for the necessary licenses from the Industry Ministry and comply with the tariffs set for crypto mining.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @08:46AM (4 children)
Is the iranian government accepting taxes in this "currency"? Are they providing any sort of legal framework for the value of this "currency"?
If not, why the hell are real resources thrown at this?!
Iran will be devastated by climate change. Literally turned into a desert. It is my opinion that they are idiots, because they don't understand, as a state, the situation they are in, and that they must conserve their resources for the really bad future that is coming to them.
but hey. I'm just an anonymous coward on the internet. what do I know. I don't even have a proper armchair.
(Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Wednesday September 30 2020, @09:03AM
> they are idiots
That is hardly a new information.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @09:32AM
On the other hand, the idiot in the whitehouse is bullying the banks so that Iran can't even buy medicine ... what good is money if you can't spend it? They convert some into BItcoins and shit to avoid the solitary Trump embargo.
But yeah, Iran's government is not very bright but they are stuck in a shit corner and it's not even that much their fault.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday September 30 2020, @05:38PM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Thursday October 01 2020, @06:03AM
well, they do generate literally all their electricity by burning oil and gas. i believe they sub gasoline, because they want to export more. those types of power plants can adjust base load fast and spin down. now they're going to run them full speed 24/7. to make a fake currency, which they'll sell for dollars. instead of just selling their oil a'd gas for dollars. the stupidity is astounding. but.. they'll make more on the bitcoin and come out net positive, by polluting a little globally, and polluting an insane amount locally.
(Score: 5, Informative) by maxwell demon on Wednesday September 30 2020, @10:52AM (2 children)
When the power companies mine directly on the power plant, the electricity price will naturally increase so that mining is no longer profitable for anyone else. That's because as long as mining is profitable, it will be more profitable for the power plant to use the generated electricity to mine right at that place, than to sell it over the grid for a lower price.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @01:23PM (1 child)
Exactly this!
This can also be a problem because it can allow the power plants to basically control the blockchain. Isn't it a problem with crypto if too few entities can gain too much processing power compared to the rest of the network? He who owns the power grid owns the processing power. A few power companies doing most of the mining creates a lack of mining competition.
What about when crypto moves away from proof of work towards proof of stake I wonder?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @06:41PM
51% Attack
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/1/51-attack.asp [investopedia.com]
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday September 30 2020, @11:17AM (4 children)
As the point of this probably is to more or less dodge all forms of sanctions imposed on Iran are the various blackmarkets where cryptocurrencies are the main currency now going to be flooded with requests for basic resources?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 30 2020, @04:30PM (3 children)
As I understand from popular culture, the first things that Iran will be requesting in their bypass of sanctions are silicone breast implants and Viagra pills.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday September 30 2020, @05:31PM (2 children)
Isn't the Darkweb already filled with (herbal-) Viagra pills for sale? After all you need something to help get it up with all the coke and drugs you, the buyer not you you, buy and take? Or so I heard/learned from popular culture.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 30 2020, @06:12PM (1 child)
Popular culture tells me that Meth is so popular because of how it enhances sexual pleasure...
In any event, the more BTC Iran cooks up in their power plant + GPU facilities, the more of "all the things" they can will be obtaining from the darkweb.
Invest in NVidia!
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday September 30 2020, @06:15PM
Edit: I forgot, NVidia is so 2018 for Bitcoin mining, are the cool kids still using AntMiner FPGAs, or have they moved on to another generation beyond that now?
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/06/24/7408365/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @11:27AM
PROFIT!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @01:34PM (3 children)
How's that decentralized grassroots currency for the rest of us working out now? When only the power plant owners can afford to mine it, you just centralized all the wealth. You created another group of robber baron banksters, you fucking cryptocurrency assholes. Fuck you.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Wednesday September 30 2020, @01:55PM
Has this now already come true even without this? Is there still some active small time mining market? Isn't it all now in the hands of professional miners? With specialized mining rigs and moving around to the cheapest power sources available? Sure if I had "free" power I would fill the basement with machines but until that comes true I guess we, the small time enthusiasts, are just pushed out of the mining market.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 30 2020, @07:34PM
shut up, you dumb bitch. there are other consensus algorithms.
(Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Wednesday September 30 2020, @08:09PM