Merely days ahead of the Bitcoin halving, Ukraine and Iran are taking steps into expanding mining services within their borders.
Ukraine plans to utilize excess nuclear power, while the Asian country has granted a license to a Turkish company to operate up to 6,000 mining rigs in Semnan.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection recently published a press release outlining the possibility of adopting cryptocurrency mining soon. Interestingly, the document informed that the large Eastern European country wants to employ excess nuclear power to do so.
Primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine has a significant surplus of electricity. Thus, the Ministry is looking into new approaches into utilizing it, as the press service indicated:
“We can really transform the “passive” into an active. With a surplus of nuclear generation, one of the modern tools for using excess electricity is to direct it to cryptocurrency mining. This not only allows to maintain the guaranteed load on the NPP but also will make it possible for companies to raise additional funds.”
Previously, the nation’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said that it has no plans to introduce specific regulations on cryptocurrency mining as the self-governed blockchain consensus is sufficient:
“We remain loyal to mining activities that form part of open, decentralized networks. Mining does not require regulatory activity from governmental oversight bodies or other third-party regulators; this activity is regulated by the protocol itself and the network members.”
A recent local report outlined that the Islamic Republic of Iran has granted a license to the Turkey-based cryptocurrency mining company, iMiner, to begin mining digital assets. Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade gave the green light to the mining firm to operate up to 6,000 rigs in the city of Semnan.
Per the report, iMiner has spent so far over $7 million to set up the mining operation, which is considered to be the biggest one in Iran.
The report suggested that iMiner is now licensed to also offer cryptocurrency trading and custody within the borders of Iran.
Aside from the Asian country, the mining company is also operating in Turkey, Russia, Canada, and the US, with more than 300 staff members.