November 10, 2017
According to a high ranking official, the Islamic Republic is getting ready to adopt bitcoin as a financial option for Iranians.
Analysts generally seem to view the news as a rather stumbling effort to find some way around US banking restrictions that limit Iran’s ability to operate internationally.
Deputy Minister of Telecommunications Amir-Hossain Davai said in an interview with the daily Sharq last Wednes-day, “The ministry of telecommunications has already conducted a number of research studies as part of efforts to prepare the infrastructure to use bitcoin inside the country.
“We, as the main center in Iran dealing with the country’s technology developments, have taken very seriously the issue of preparing the infrastructure for the new currency.”
According to Iran Front Page, Davai added that such digital infrastructure is part of the soft power of the country and that the entrance of the cryptocurrency into Iran will eventually be in the general interests of the country.
The economy of Iran has suffered for many years from financial sanctions that have hobbled the ability of local exporters and importers to work with foreign counterparts.
It should be no surprise that Iran is testing how to bypass financial sanctions with bitcoin, beyond just local use.
The Central Bank of Iran deems commerce done with bitcoin “not legal,” which discourages local businesses from embracing the digital currency. But no law specifically bans the use of bitcoin as a payment method.
Bitcoin News reported that residents of Iran rely on Localbitcoins as well as Australian-based peer-to-peer marketplace Coinava, which connects buyers and sellers in Iran without directly buying or selling bitcoins. Additionally, Iran’s Bitcoin group on Facebook has more than 29,000 members.
While some companies in Iran have used bitcoin, they fear the tax laws related to it and have refrained from revealing their identities, the Young Journalists Club news agency said.
Bitcoin News asked Iranian economist Morteza Imani-Rad about the impact of bitcoin on the country’s economy. He said many websites offering information on bitcoin are blocked by the country’s firewall. “Bitcoin cannot be easily installed in Iran and therefore cannot have an impact on the Iranian economy,” he said.
However, he noted that there are many international bitcoin dealers that provide services to Iranians through foreign exchange trading, even though “entering the forex trading market is not that easy” in Iran since it is “very restrictive.”
Bitcoin is a worldwide cryptocurrency and digital payment system started in 2009 that works without a central repository or single administrator. Transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary. These transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a ledger called a blockchain. As of February 2015, more than 100,000 merchants and vendors worldwide accepted bitcoin as payment.
