Iran has imposed a three-month moratorium on Bitcoin mining operations. Mostapha Rajani Mashhadi, the director of Iran Grid Management, made the announcement. To mine a Bitcoin token, powerful computers must solve difficult proof-of-work algorithms. Because this equipment must be plugged in at all times, it has the potential to interrupt a region’s entire power supply. Mining operations for four main cryptocurrencies emitted up to 13 million metric tons of carbon dioxide between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2018.
Last year, China outlawed all crypto-related operations. To accommodate crypto mining and data centers, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) predicted a fivefold rise in energy loads. In the Central American country of El Salvador, a volcano geo-thermal-powered Bitcoin mining plant is also being built to fuel mining with renewable energy. “It’s possible that crypto mining is having a role in that,” Musk remarked at the time.
