According to a media report, Iran made the country’s first cryptocurrency payment this week with a US$10 million import order, which could be an option for the country to bypass broad trade embargoes.
The struggle after sanctions!
After years of economic sanctions, the Islamic State has been struggling financially. As a result, the country was forced to begin using cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange for its international trades. Iran used to be the Middle East’s leading economy, but it has recently fallen behind others. However, to boost the country’s international trade, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade imported the items paid for in cryptocurrency this week.
After allowing more international trade transactions to be settled in cryptocurrency, Iran has increased its support for digital assets. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) permitted licensed miners, currency exchanges, and banks to pay for imports in crypto assets last year.
So does Iran supports crypto now?
This does not imply that the government endorses the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. The Iranian authorities have not been kind to industry participants, particularly cryptocurrency miners.
One month after the ban, law enforcement agencies seized 7,000 BTC mining machines in an abandoned factory in Tehran. Due to summer power outages, the government suspended crypto mining operations for the second time in December.
Authorities also pounced on miners earlier this month, informing them of increased penalties for illegal BTC miners. Most of the issues have been with crypto mining, the main problem being its high power consumption. The government has also prohibited the use of subsidized electricity for Bitcoin mining.
