Natural Gas Price Hike Hits Crypto Miners in Iran

Companies using natural gas as a power source to mint digital currency in Iran will have to deal with a sharp increase in the price of the fuel. The new rates set by the state-run supplier are almost double the previous and have been imposed retroactively, local media reported. Iran Raises Tariffs for Mining Farms … Read more

US Treasury Charges Bittrex With Sanctions Violations, Crypto Exchange Agrees to Settle With Regulator

On October 11, the U.S. Treasury department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it has settled charges with the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex. The crypto exchange was accused of sanctions violations and failure to “implement effective sanctions compliance controls” between March 2014 and December 2017. Crypto Exchange … Read more

Nicolas Maduro Tempts West With an Abundance of Oil and Gas, Venezuelan President Wants Sanctions Lifted

Amid the economic rumblings across the world and the energy crisis in Europe, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has said his country is ready to step up and help with oil. Despite the fact that Venezuela has the largest supply of crude oil in the world, U.S. economic sanctions imposed in 2019 by the Trump administration … Read more

Iran Begins Central Bank Digital Currency ‘Crypto Rial’ Pilot Today

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has reportedly begun a pilot for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), also known as “crypto rial.” Iran’s chamber of commerce explained that the “crypto rial has been designed in a way that is easy to track, and even if the data on the smartphones are hacked, the crypto … Read more

OFAC Sanctions 7 New Bitcoin Addresses Allegedly Associated With Iran-Related Ransomware Activities

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has published a specially designated nationals list update (OFAC’s SDN List) that lists a number of individuals accused of being involved with Iran-related ransomware. The list further shows seven bitcoin addresses that are allegedly associated with the Iranian ransomware gang. Iran Adds 7 New Bitcoin Addresses to … Read more

Russia Shuts off Europe’s Main Gas Pipeline Until the West’s Sanctions Are Lifted, Iran Tempts EU With Similar Deal

Russia has seemingly drawn a line in the sand and will not turn on Europe’s main gas pipeline until the “collective West” lifts the financial sanctions against the country. The move follows the Nord Stream 1 pipeline allegedly shutting down for “maintenance,” but reports from Interfax that followed five days later indicate Moscow will not … Read more

Iran Starts Licensing Crypto Miners Under New Regulatory Framework

The government of Iran has reportedly started issuing licenses to crypto miners under the new “comprehensive and detailed” regulatory framework approved last week. The authorities previously issued licenses to a number of crypto mining operations but halted the process due to power consumption and illegal mining issues. Iran Resumes Issuing Licenses to Crypto Miners The … Read more