Amid the dropping crypto prices, miners have been quite busy looking for ways to cut costs. Some have even given up while others look for other locations where they can increase the profit margins. One place that miners in China have found might raise a few eyebrows.
Chinese Miners in Iran
Iran, a nation in the Middle East is fast becoming a new home for crypto miners from Chinatrying to make some cash. Lured in by the low electricity cost in the nation, miners are moving to the largest power exporter in the middle in droves.
A recent report indicated that in the five years starting March 2013 to Mach 2018, Iran exported about 43 billion kWh of power to neighbors. It earned revenue of $4.1 billion from these exports.
However, Iranian producers of electricity often do not have stable buyers for the power as it happens with the National Grid. Most small plants face a survival crisis at times. As a result, they are forced to sell power at an extremely low price.
Issues Chinese are Facing in Iran
Despite the low power prices, Chinese miners are facing issues when it comes to getting the mining rigs to Iran. The main issue is that customs in Iran look at the mining rigs suspiciously and miners are at times turned away.
This has caused many miners to opt to transport their equipment by sea. It takes about 20 days from Chinese ports to Iran. First, the equipment gets to Dubai. The second part is getting the equipment from Dubai to mining hubs in Iran.
However, that is not the end of their woes. Right now, Iran has banned the importation of mining rigs into the nation. As a result, Iranian customs officials are currently holding about 40,000 mining rigs, which they have prevented from entering the nation.
In addition, Nasa Dehqan, a block-chain researcher based in Tehran, Iran, also announced that a local startup company, Areatak Global, recently agreed to establish a Spanish investor and mining farm.
Dehqan said Iran’s power costs are very low, but the ability to devalue the price of bitcoin due to US sanctions means that the available opportunities are much more attractive.
Whatever happens, it shows the steps miners will take to make a profit in the market. As long as it is somewhere inexpensive, miners will try to get there.
