Rolling blackouts plague Iran and some suspect bitcoin mining may have a role in the outages

Iran’s capital and outlying provinces have faced rolling power blackouts for weeks in October and November, with electricity cuts disrupting people’s lives and businesses. And while there are likely several factors involved, some suspect that cryptocurrency mining has has a role in the outages. Iran's economy has been hobbled for years by international sanctions over its advancing nuclear program. The demand on the grid has not let up, however — even when Iranians stopped using air conditioners as the weather cooled in the fall and before winter months require people to fire up their gas heaters. Coincidence or not, bitcoin’s value is rocketing to all-time highs.