Coming to the ban on mining imposed by China, it is to be noted that China has banned 1. Google 2. Facebook 3. Snapchat 4. Twitter 5. Instagram 6. Youtube 7. Netflix 8. Reddit! This means Bitcoin is just going to do fine.

BTC does not fear the Chinese State, but the Chinese State should definitely fear Bitcoin.

If a contest is held where the eligible contestant is the one without carbon emissions to be the first to throw a stone at Bitcoin, you will not find one.

Nic Carter states:  If China becomes more aggressive in targeting miners, this will reduce China’s ability to influence Bitcoin potentially. There is an outside chance that, at some point, they will use the China Domiciled hash rate to launch an attack on Bitcoin. By continuing to ban mining in China, they will not have any leverage or ability to do that.

This is good for as long as Bitcoin’s Carbon Foot Print is concerned. As we all know, there are lots of coal in China, and that is partly used for mining. By banning mining in places that are coal-powered, China is reducing BTC’s carbon emissions.  This is an effective subsidy to Western cleaner-based miners. And, so it dramatically improves the emissions factor of the Bitcoin network. So, this is something we should be celebrating.

Now, with regards to security? Is this going to make Bitcoin less secure? Not really.  Bitcoin security does not increase with a single marginal unit of hash rate. Bitcoin is overwhelmingly secure. It has secured many thresholds; even if the hash rate has to drop by 80%, It would still be considered secure. The worse that will happen will be if the hash rate goes offline; blocks might be slower for a week or two.  That is really it. So, ensure this is good for Bitcoin’s climate impact.  This reduces China’s leverage over Bitcoin, and it does not really affect its security. It is a good thing.

The government wants you to pay the respective taxes and obey the law.

Reuters reportedly states that about 4.5% of Bitcoin mining is taking place in Iran.  This makes it possible for the country to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.  Thus, they make use of cryptocurrencies to deal with the impact of sanctions.  They use cryptocurrency to buy imports.

So, 4.5% of all bitcoin mining takes place in Iran, and this amounts to $1 billion a year.

For clarity, “The United States imposes an almost total economic embargo on Iran, including a ban on all imports including those from the country’s oil, banking and shipping sectors.”

The exact figures of Bitcoin or cryptocurrency mining are challenging to determine. It is well known that powerful computers compete with each other to solve complex mathematical problems in the process of Bitcoin mining.  Iran is rich in electricity, and therefore they make use of this opportunity to mint Bitcoin.

Bitcoin mining is considered to be an attractive opportunity for sanction-hit Iran.  Their economy has been hard hit due to a shortage of hard cash.  Though they do not have hard cash, they do have surplus oil and natural gas.

Therefore, to deal with trade embargoes, Iran is selling their energy reserves, and it has been reported that they are getting paid in Bitcoin.  And, eventually, they make use of BTC to pay for imports. They can circumvent sanctions imposed on their financial institutions.

Reuters, therefore, states, financial firms who are offering cryptocurrency services in the United States should consider potential sanctions they might get exposed to due to Iranian Bitcoin mining.

That is about Iran and its power to mine Bitcoin.