Tehran Stock Exchange CEO ‘Steps Down’ Following Discovery of Cryptocurrency Mining Equipment
Following the discovery of digital currency extraction devices in the Tehran Stock Exchange building, the company’s chief executive officer announced on Wednesday that he has stepped down from his position.
Ali Sahraei told the IRIB news agency: “In order to create an opportunity for further investigations regarding cryptocurrency mining at the Tehran Stock Exchange and in line with maintaining capital market stability, I submitted my resignation to the board of directors of the Tehran Securities and Exchange Organization, and the board accepted this resignation.”
This comes as the state news agency IRNA reports that Ali Sahraei has been dismissed, with Mahmoud Goodarzi appointed as acting head of the Tehran Stock Exchange.
The Securities and Exchange Organization confirmed the presence of miners in the Tehran Stock Exchange building in a statement on Wednesday.
The Securities and Exchange Organization’s statement said: “A number of miners operated by the Tehran Securities and Exchange Company were discovered in the company’s building, and further investigation revealed that this activity was not completely recorded and disclosed in the company’s reports and accounts. Given that such activity was not in line with the stock exchange’s bylaws and mission from the outset, the matter has been referred to the organization’s legal affairs department.”
According to the exchange organization’s public relations, the Tehran Stock Exchange has been implementing a limited research and development project since the beginning of 1399 (2020) titled “Cryptocurrency Extraction R&D Plan and Calculating the Actual ROI Rate,” but “this activity was halted after a short period in the same year.”
Details of statistics from Cambridge University recently published show that Bitcoin mining in Iran during last winter and this spring saw modest growth compared to the same seasons the previous year, but showed a 60 percent increase compared to last summer and fall.
According to this report, Iran’s share in global Bitcoin mining is approximately 4.6 percent.
Source: Radio Farda
