I noticed that bitcoin mining power in China has dropped significantly. Turns out, there's a long-term contract between Iran and China for mining. They're supposedly setting up a mining farm in Rafsanjan, but it’s causing severe power shortages for locals. Sounds sketchy.
I seriously doubt mining will actually shift to Iran. China has the lowest hardware costs and some of the biggest hydro plants, making energy way cheaper than in Iran. They’re dealing with energy scarcity there.
Does Iran really have cheap power though? If it’s mostly fossil-fuel based, sure, cause they have loads of oil. But otherwise, it’s not cheaper than many other nations. Plus, with China’s issues regarding Muslims, why would they choose Iran?
Gotta point out that while Iran’s energy may be scarce for civilians, they still export power to other countries. They’ve got nuclear energy capabilities too, so they can generate industrial-scale electricity.
No issue with industrial power in Iran, you're right about them using fossil fuels. China separates religion from its economy, and they even have agreements with Iran that aren’t fully disclosed to the public. Weird but that's how it rolls.
If miners were scattered all over instead of hoarding in one place, they’d avoid straining local grids. This traditional centralization just goes against the spirit of crypto. We should spread out instead.
I think Iran and China are pretty buddy-buddy. Mining eats a lot of power, but luckily Iran has enough industrial supply, thanks to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. However, importing mining rigs from China will cost extra.
Too many folks base their views of Iran just on media portrayals. Reality is different... electricity costs around a cent per kWh! Sure, some remote areas might have spotty power, just like in the US.
Haven’t seen any clients from Iran lately. The real issue isn’t the power shortage, but the tough customs for bringing in miners. Moving operations there isn’t practical.
Yeah, customs are a big hassle. Power issues are also real. Many places in the ME and Africa deal with serious power cut cycles. UPS systems are necessary or gear gets fried.
After that coal mine accident, I reckon we should shy away from hydro ideas. Those setups are only available during the rainy season anyway. It makes more sense if we're talking about gas energy, which Iran has.
It’s pretty straightforward. Investors would use industrial setups capable of handling high electric loads. Home setups won’t cut it, causing neighborhood blackouts. It's just physics.
It’s hilarious how people think the hashrate drop is due to China’s bans since 2017, while everybody’s ignoring that mining is half as profitable now. If BTC rises again, we’ll see the hashrate recover.
Iran’s banned cryptocurrency mining until September, saying authorized mining doesn’t use much power, but unauthorized ones are hogging the grid big time. They’re trying to cut down on that.
A lot of folks are falling for the “China ban” FUD since 2017. Bitcoin’s price drop isn’t just about that; overall mining is less profitable right now.