Tagged: iran

CBDCs: Iran Begins Pilot Launch of Crypto-Rial

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said this past Wednesday that it will “begin the pilot launch of crypto-rial as the bank’s digital currency as of Thursday.” The CBI has said that “the aim of designing the crypto-rial is to turn banknotes into a programmable… Read More

Iran, El Salvador Make Interesting Crypto Moves: Analyst

The past few weeks have seen some interesting geopolitical developments in the cryptocurrency space, GlobalBlock sales trader Alexandra Clark said. Iran could be taking advantage of China’s tough stance on cryptocurrency mining, Clark suggests. They recently have granted permits to 30 crypto mining farms. Should… Read More

Iran Seizes 7k Crypto Mining Machines in a Major Crackdown

In a major crackdown, the Iranian police have seized 7,000 crypto mining machines blamed for massive power outages in the country, as per its state media. The police  7,000 computer miners were seized in an abandoned factory in the west of the capital city of… Read More

Bitcoin Mining in Iran Banned for 4 Months, Hundreds of Unregistered BTC Miners Seized by Government: Report

Zack Voell, a cryptocurrency mining specialist, writes in a blog post published by Compass that Iran has banned Bitcoin mining for four months in the country’s most recent “legal pivot” away from the “begrudged but enduring segment of miners” operating in the country. Voell points… Read More

Over 4.5M Unique Bitcoin Addresses Associated with 72K+ Iranian IP Addresses, CipherTrace Sanctions Research Reveals

Sanctions research from blockchain security firm CipherTrace reveals that over 72,000 “unique” Iranian IP addresses have been linked to over 4.5 million “unique” Bitcoin (BTC) addresses. CipherTrace notes that since monitoring sanctions-related IP usage across the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain network, they’ve been able to identify… Read More

Iran Is Reportedly Planning to Bypass International Sanctions by Engaging in Bitcoin Mining and BTC Transactions

Iran’s Presidential Center for Strategic Studies, which is a thinktank that is attached with President Rouhani’s office, has released an extensive report which emphasizes the need for the so-called rogue State to use decentralized cryptocurrencies to generate additional revenue. Extracting these virtual currencies, the report… Read More

Bitcoin Mining Is to Blame, at least Partially, for Massive Blackouts in Iran, the Nation’s Government Claims

There have reportedly been massive blackouts and smog that have hit several cities in Iran. It’s being described as quite a toxic mix as the nation, which is facing serious economic challenges and crippling US-led sanctions, is now also having to deal with the region’s… Read More

Significant Bitcoin Hashrate Came Offline, Resulting in Major BTC Mining Difficulty Drop

John Lee Quigley, who’s focused on building Bitcoin media and research products at HASHR8 Inc, notes that Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading past the $15,000 mark and appears to be holding its own during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quigley writes in a blog post that it’s… Read More

Iran: Power Generation Company Shutters 1100 Crypto Mining Operations

Taviner, the power generation and transmission company of Iran, has shut down 1100 crypto mining farms that apparently were not licensed to do business in the country. In the summer of 2019, it was reported that the Iranian government had legalized crypto mining companies for… Read More

Iran’s President Promotes a Cryptocurrency for Muslim World at Malaysian Summit

“The Muslim world should be designing measures to save themselves from the domination of the United States dollar and the American financial regime,” Iranian president Hassan Rouhani told leaders from the Muslim world gathered at the Kuala Lumpur Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, Dec. 19…. Read More

Report: Adversaries Building Commerce “Pipelines” to Undermine US Dollar Dominance

Two researchers at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) have produced a comprehensive report on Russia, Venezuela, Iran and China’s efforts to create or exploit alternative payment systems that would allow them to circumvent the US dollar as a means of enforcing American foreign… Read More

Report: Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister Says Country Should End Energy Subsidies to Crypto Miners

Iran Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri told an audience in Tehran over the weekend that cryptocurrency miners in his country should have to pay the same rates for power as firms purchasing electricity exports, Iranian news site Financial Tribune reports. So far, Iran has had a… Read More

LocalBitcoins Blocks Users in Iran

Peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading service LocalBitcoins has shut down trading among users in Iran, likely in order to comply with US sanctions, Coindesk reports. Iranian LocalBitcoins customers are still allowed to withdraw bitcoins but reportedly cannot conduct new trades or update previous ones. According to reporter… Read More

Mid-Size Chinese Cryptominers Weathering Risks to Access Cheap Power in Iran

In the wake of increasing Chinese state reticence towards a once supported industry, the biggest Chinese crypto mining firms have been steadily expanding or relocating to Canada, the US and Iceland, Chinese crypto news outlet 8BTC reports. But small and mid-size Chinese crypto miners have… Read More

Consulting Firm PwC Says Crypto Increasingly Facilitating Crime and Not “Decentralized” Economy

In its latest “Strategic Alliance Bulletin,” auditing firm PwC (formerly-known-as PricewaterhouseCoopers) has countered the sanguine narratives in crypto by stating unequivocally: “Cryptocurrency has increasingly been associated with serving criminal and nefarious purposes, rather than supporting the decentralisation of ‘traditional’ currency.” That said, the company does… Read More

Iran Warns Public Off Investing in Telegram Message App’s Token “Gram”

Iran’s Secretary of the Criminal Content Definition Task Force, Javad Javidnia, has warned Iranian’s to stay away from the Telegram messaging app’s new crypto token, “Gram,” Tehran Times (TT) reports. According to a TT paraphrase, Javidnia has told the public that: “…any cooperation with Telegram messaging app(‘s)…launch (of)… Read More

Republicans Introduce Bill to Escalate Sanctions Against Iran, Including Country’s Proposed National Cryptocurrency

Republican Senator for Texas Ted Cruz and Congressman Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, introduced a new bill into the American Senate and House Thursday, a bill designed to “impose maximum financial pressure on Iran. The “Blocking Iranian Illicit Finance Act” (H.R.7321) was also co-sponsored… Read More

Treasury Department “Reinvigorating” Illicit Finance Countermeasures, Including Controls on Iran and Cryptocurrencies

US Department of the Treasury Under Secretary, Sigal Mandelker, told attendees of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference this week that she expects to cooperate with financial institutions to enhance their illicit finance countermeasures: “We encourage the private sector…to stay proactive and to innovate with new… Read More

US Treasury Department Sanctions First Bitcoin Addresses

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the Bitcoin addresses of two Iranians the office says processed Bitcoin ransoms on behalf of Iranian hackers who targeted government and business sites in the US and Canada. Anyone who does… Read More

US Indicts Two Iranians for 200 Ransomware Attacks in US

Yesterday, the American Justice Department indicted Iranian citizens Faramarz Shahi Savandi, 34, and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, 27, for executing remote cyber attacks against 200 American government agencies, municipalities and health care businesses, the Daily Mail reports. The charges were announced by US Deputy Attorney… Read More

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