Crypto Industry News:

Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade have issued over 1,000 licenses to mine cryptocurrency for domestic operations.

According to a report published by Iran Banking and Economic System Reference Media (IBENA), member of the Blockchain Committee of the Information and Communication Technology Guild (ICT), Amir Hossein Saeedi Nai, informed the public about the number of licenses issued.

He explained that before mining operations in the country, entrepreneurs must apply for a license, adding that the government has issued over 1,000 permits so far, and several mining farms have already started operations. Nai estimated that if the local mining industry were to operate at full capacity, it would bring $ 8.5 billion to the local economy.

Bank sanctions from the United States and other Western countries have hit Iran's economy hard. Nai said the digital currency can facilitate trade and can also be used to avoid economic sanctions.

The official explained that ICT is currently working on improving the conditions for mining cryptocurrency in Iran. It is possible that local mining activities will revive by changing electricity rates and strengthening cooperation between local cryptocurrency miners and gas-fired power plants.

Iran has one of the lowest energy prices in the world, at $ 0.007 per kilowatt-hour. However, recent energy shortages and power outages have led regulators to take a more active role in managing energy supply in the country and therefore have adopted a strict approach to mining cryptocurrencies.

The increase in cryptocurrency mining in Iran has led the government to significantly raise electricity tariffs for the sector from the above 0.007 dollars to 0.07 dollars per hour - the same as exports of electricity.

Technical Market Overview:

The BTC/USD pair has made yet another higher high overnight, this time it was located at the level of $9,370. The level of $9,130 will now act as short-term technical support, together with the level of $8,836. The strong and positive momentum supports the short-term bullish outlook and the next target for bulls is seen at the level of $9,539. There is only a couple of days to complete the month of January and the Bitcoin chart looks very bullish.

Weekly Pivot Points:

WR3 - $9,339

WR2 - $9,028

WR1 - $8,796

Weekly Pivot - $8,458

WS1 - $8,222

WS2 - $7,890

WS3 - $7,647

Trading Recommendations:

There is a possibility that the wave 2 corrective cycles are completed at the level of $6,345, so the market might be ready for another impulsive wave up of a higher degree and uptrend continuation. This strategy is valid as long as the level of $7,582 is not violated. Nevertheless, the larger timeframe trend is still down and all the shorter timeframe moves are still being treated as a counter-trend correction inside of the uptrend until the level of $10,278 is clearly broken.