The Bitcoin price starts the new week in red, down by 5%, and as usual, altcoins follow. The same can be seen in the traditional financial markets where there are old fears that flare up again.
The Bitcoin price (BTC) is currently trading at just under $ 8,600. In the last 24 hours, he has had to give up almost five percent. As a result, he had to give up part of the profits from the rally last weekend. Nevertheless, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is still doing well in a weekly comparison – and is pleased about an increase of 12.5 percent.
The ether price, on the other hand, had to cope with greater losses in the last 24 hours – here it is a 24-hour minus of 6.87 percent. With a listing of $ 198.54, the second-largest cryptocurrency is roughly on the same level as a week ago.
Meanwhile, Ripple coin (XRP) lost almost 4 percent within a day. In a weekly comparison, the “bank coin” showed a plus of 7.5 percent at $ 0.211.
The DAX also started the week negatively this Monday. The leading German index fell three percent to 10,533 points at the opening on Monday. In the traditional markets, it is above all the customs dispute between the United States and China that is causing old worries to flare up again.
The Asian stock exchanges also had to cope with losses in this connection according to The Financial Times. A similar situation can be reported from the USA – here the futures on the US leading index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, declined by 1 percent, the daily news continued. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed China for the spread of the coronavirus on Sunday and wanted to hold the country responsible.
Iran relies on Bitcoin mining
The government in Iran has issued a license for the Bitcoin mining company iMiner. With over 6,000 mining rigs, the company would become one of the largest Bitcoin miners in Iran. As an article by PressTV announced that iMiner has already invested $ 7.3 million in a mining farm in Iran. In addition, the company wants to offer crypto trading and custody services.
Iran is one of the regions in the world where mining of cryptocurrencies is attractive due to electricity prices. In view of the falling Bitcoin price in the wake of the Corona crash and “Black Thursday”, the topic of mining efficiency and profitability had become increasingly important. After all, the “miners” of the cryptocurrency depend heavily on the Bitcoin price. If the electricity prices are too high or the Bitcoin price is too low, mining cryptocurrencies is not worthwhile.
Now Iran is not only an attractive location to mine digital gold due to the low electricity prices. For the government of the republic, cryptocurrencies are also of political relevance. As a result, considerations had repeatedly arisen about using cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions – such as those from the United States.
The low electricity prices had also motivated entrepreneurs who did not have a license to mine. In November last year, it became known in this context that the Iranian government had issued a bounty against illegal Bitcoin miners.
