Iran approves using crypto for imports to bust sanctions

Iran has approved regulations that will enable trading with cryptocurrencies and using cryptocurrency payments for imports to strengthen trade in the country.

On Monday, trade minister Seyed Reza Fatemi Amin said the regulation “specifies all issues related to cryptocurrencies, including how to provide fuel and energy for mining them, and how to grant licences.”

“All the issues related to crypto-assets, including how to provide fuel and energy, and how to assign and grant licences, were devised,” Mr Amin stated.

Though Iran’s central bank banned the trading of cryptocurrencies in the country in 2019, the government allowed the use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin to pay for imports.

The approval came weeks after Iran’s Trade Development Organisation endorsed its first official import order, buying cars worth $10 million using cryptocurrency.

“This week, the first official import order was successfully placed with رمز_ارز# worth 10 million dollars. By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with target countries,” said Iran’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine & Trade Alireza Peyman-Pak in a Twitter post.

Last year, members of Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly drafted bills under the supervision of the parliamentary Economic Commission, allocating responsibilities among regulators and answering some questions to determine the place of cryptocurrencies in Iran.