Iran, pressured by blackouts and pollution, targets Bitcoin

Iran, pressured by blackouts and pollution, targets Bitcoin

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) “” Iran's capital and major cities plunged into darkness in recent weeks as rolling outages left millions without electricity for hours. Traffic lights died. Offices went dark. Online classes stopped.With toxic smog blanketing Tehran skies and the country buckling under the pandemic and other mounting crises, social media has been rife with speculation. Soon, fingers pointed at an unlikely culprit: Bitcoin. Within days, as frustration spread among residents, the government launched a wide-ranging crackdown on Bitcoin processing centers, which require immense amounts of electricity to power their specialized computers and to keep them cool “” a burden on Iran's power grid.ADVERTISEMENTAuthorities shuttered 1,600 centers across the country, including, for the first time, those legally authorized to operate. As the latest in a series of conflicting government moves, the clampdown stirred confusion in the crypto industry “” and suspicion that Bitcoin had become a useful scapegoat for the nation's deeper-rooted problems. Since former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from Tehran's nuclear accord with world powers and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, cryptocurrency has surged in popularity in the Islamic Republic. For Iran, anonymous online transactions made in cryptocurrencies allow individuals and companies to bypass banking sanctions that