Key Takeaways:
- Iran’s Trade Ministry has approved using cryptocurrency payments for imports to increase trade within the nation.
- The new regulations outline every aspect of cryptocurrencies, including how licenses are granted and how fuel and energy are provided to national miners.
According to Industry Mines and Trade Minister Reza Fatemi Amin, Iran has allowed the use of cryptocurrencies for trading and importing commodities. The permission acts as a safeguard against US sanctions imposed on its banking and finance industries.
Amin revealed that the administration’s comprehensive and in-depth law identifies regulatory requirements on cryptocurrencies, the provision of fuel and electricity for mining, and the authorization of cryptocurrency use in an interview on Sunday following an automotive industry exhibition in Tehran.
The Central Bank of Iran and the Ministry of Industry have an agreement that allows cryptocurrencies to be used to process imports from other countries, he continued.
A week after the nation placed its first-ever import order for vehicles worth $10 million using cryptocurrency as payment, Amin described the regulation shift on Sunday.
By September 2022, the usage of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be pervasive in international trade, according to previous predictions by the Iranian trade ministry.
According to Alireza Peymanpak, the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization and a deputy commerce minister in Iran, “By the end of September, the usage of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widely deployed in overseas trade with target countries.”
The minister stated that the new legislation covers all cryptocurrency-related matters, such as the procedure for granting licenses and supplying fuel and energy to mining operations.
The new regulations permit importing any goods into the nation, allowing Iran to evade U.S. sanctions that have significantly hampered the national currency and crippled the economy.
This could increase demand for cryptocurrencies, which are less regulated and can be used by Iranians in transactions where Western currencies are prohibited.
Opposition to Iran’s nuclear program has led to international trade sanctions against the country, effectively cutting it off from the world banking system.
According to a survey last year, Iran was home to 4.5 percent of all bitcoin mining activity, partly due to the nation’s subsidized, inexpensive electricity. According to reports, U.S. sanctions that prevent Iran from using the global banking system have made mining operations and cryptocurrency use even more popular.
Iran’s relationship with the cryptocurrency mining sector sends conflicting messages and is the epitome of a love-hate relationship.
Iran announced that all 118 legitimate crypto miners would be shut down as part of a campaign against licensed miners in June. Authorities previously took similar actions in the nation due to increasing summertime electricity consumption.
Another news that 9,404 pieces of illicit bitcoin mining equipment had been seized in Tehran since the end of March came as a shock to the Islamic Republic’s crypto community.
Mining devices were found as a result of many operations carried out throughout the city, claims Kambiz Nazerian, manager of the energy distribution company in the Tehran region.
