The Iranian government has now warned of hefty fines for those who will be caught mining cryptocurrencies using power intended for domestic use.

This after authorities registered a significant spike in electricity consumption for digital currency mining, further straining the already stressed hydropower generation caused by insufficient rainfall in the country this year.

The government said the illegal mining operations for virtual currencies that rely on electricity intended for households cause transformers to be overloaded, damaging the power grid. According to Tehran Times, Iranian Ministry of Energy spokesperson Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi said unauthorized miners “will be fined when identified and held responsible for the damages they cause to the electricity network.”

Mining rapidly expanding in Iran

Back in 2019, the Iranian government legalized cryptocurrency mining, classifying it as an industrial activity.

In 2020, over 1,000 mining licenses were issued by the Ministry of Industry, Mining, and Trade, and power companies were provided with an avenue to increase their profits through meeting the industry’s power demands.

Selling electricity to cryptocurrency miners was seen as an option to fill the gap between revenues and expenditures in the electricity industry. However, with the current energy crisis being faced by the country, this move is now also being questioned.

Power consumption through the roof

Per the latest available data, the cryptocurrency mining sector in Iran consumes up to 1,500 megawatts of electricity each day. Back in December, this figure only sat at 300 megawatts. Authorities revealed that only around 200 megawatts of the current average daily consumption are legal.

Chinese companies have taken advantage of low and subsidized electricity prices in Iran to establish mining operations in the country’s Special Economic Zones.

The Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade estimates around $660 million worth of cryptocurrency is mined annually by unlicensed facilities in Iran.

Image courtesy of Cointelegraph News/YouTube

Coinsmart. Beste Bitcoin-Börse in Europa
Source: https://bitcoinerx.com/blockchain/iranian-government-to-penalize-crypto-miners-using-household-power/

The Bitcoin price faced strong volatility due to which the price has once again crumbled under $50k. This strong volatility has spread to the altcoin market and the digital silver, Litecoin [LTC], was among those alts affected. The Litecoin price slipped by 21% over the weekend and was trading at $286 with a market capitalization of $18.97 billion.

Litecoin four-hourly chart

Source: LTCUSD on TradingView

The above chart of LTC shows the strong upward march of the digital asset to $413.65 this month, after which began its descent. The coin has now slipped by almost 30% and was seeing a bearish pressure. This bearishness could result in its value stumbling further.

Reasoning

The market was open to more volatility and this was indicated by Bollinger Bands. The divergence of the bands was suggesting that the price has been moving more rapidly than before and may continue to do so. Meanwhile, the signal line was hovering above the candlesticks highlighting the downward trending price.

The rise in selling pressure has pushed the digital asset lower and as per the relative strength index, this selling pressure was rising. RSI value had briefly hit 30, which is the oversold zone. However, a recovery pushed the indicator’s value higher. Now that the selling pressure continued, RSI has been moving towards the oversold zone again.

The money which momentarily made its way into the market might seep out. Chaikin Money Flow suggested that new money was entering the market with the recent recovery.

Crucial levels 

Entry-level: $285.38
Take Profit: $273.89
Stop-level: $294.04
Risk to Reward: 1.33

Conclusion

The current Litecoin market was suggesting the rise of bearishness in the market. As LTC’s value moved close to $286, the selling pressure was visibly dominant and the traders might want to tread carefully.

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Source: https://ambcrypto.com/litecoin-price-analysis-17-may

Panic settles fast in the cryptocurrency industry. The collective market declined by 4% over the past 24 hours but the actual correction has amounted to over 20% since May 20. While Bitcoin struggled to move above $50k recently, Ethereum’s dropped from its recent ATH of $4372. With speculations of a prolonged bearish period gathering pace, there are a couple of things to note before coming towards a definite conclusion.

Ethereum: A timely market re-set?

ETH/USD on Trading View

Since 18 April, Ethereum has rallied by 124.47% in the market. The asset has managed to breach past multiple key levels and the present corrections can be considered as an ideal re-set. The asset is already retracing from the 0.5 Fibonacci line, which is fundamentally bullish. Relative Strength Index or RSI is also reaching a neutral state, attained last during the start of April, before the rally.

Structurally, the correction isn’t outrightly bearish yet. The amount of Ethereum held on exchanges continues to remain low following the price drop, indicating little selling pressure.

Source: CryptoQuant

Traditional Market impacting Bitcoin again?

Previously, most corrections across the crypto industry would always be attributed to a decline in the traditional stock market. However, Bitcoin is primarily acting on its own for the time being.

Source: Trading View

The above comparison chart between Bitcoin vs SPX vs Dow Jones is descriptive in terms of correlation between DJI and SPX, and its collective uncorrelation with the largest crypto asset. In general, the traditional stock market has assisted the crypto market to recover in the past but its present uncorrelation means that the sell-off is organic and not triggered due to external factors.

Fundamentally, Bitcoin miners aren’t bearish either.

Source: CryptoQuant

According to data, Bitcoin Miner’s Position Index has been under the value of 1 since the beginning of March. An MPI index above 2 suggests that miners are aggressively selling in the market. Its continued position below 1 exhibits miner sentiment has altered in the short term and the market remains bullish overall.

One minor concern highlighted by Ki-Young Ju, CryptoQuant CEO was a possible whale dump over the last 24-hours. A whale dump is usually followed by a period of correction, as the market tends to shuffle out weak hands.

So, what stirred the pot?

The commotion was initiated on Twitter on May 16 after Elon Musk went on another rant. Musk’s earlier comments on BTC’s energy consumption were the topic of discussion, which led to Musk terming Bitcoin as ‘highly centralized’. While he cleared speculation that Tesla did not trigger any Bitcoin sales during this time period, Willy Woo suggested market repercussions were already unlocked.

Damage already done. The market was already soft and tentatively recovering when your unresearched FUD on energy came out. There’s only so much that can be absorbed by the market.

— Willy Woo (@woonomic) May 17, 2021

Should Traders be worried?

At the moment, No. While a drop below $46,000 is not ideal, Bitcoin is maintaining its position above its long-term support at $42,000. At press time, the asset has been able to facilitate a recovery towards the $45k range but preferably, it should commence a position above $46.5k within the next 24-48 hours.

BTC/USDT on Trading View

The market is at the periphery of a drastic turnaround. Indicators suggest a higher possibility of a bullish rally so it isn’t time to press the panic button yet.

Coinsmart. Beste Bitcoin-Börse in Europa
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/bitcoin-ethereum-and-alt-markets-heres-the-silver-lining-traders-need-to-know