June 28, 2019
Another of the world’s major bitcoin exchanges has shut off all service to people in Iran. LocalBitcoins, a Helsinki-based peer-to-peer exchange, has not said why Iranians are suddenly being cut off from its service, though most speculation centered on US sanctions.
“If you have an account already, you will be able to withdraw your bitcoins, but you will not be able to use the platform for trading,” reads a response by LocalBitcoins to an Iranian user that has circulated on social media and local news websites.
The decision is a major blow to the many Iranians who have hoped to use crypto currency to replace the rial for financial transactions.
The Central Bank of Iran has been toying with the idea of using crypto currency, but the abandonment of Iran by exchanges for crypto currencies makes that look even more forlorn than before.
A message appeared on the platform’s Iran country page that read: “Unfortunately, LocalBit-coins is currently not available in your selected region.” On Twitter, the exchange told several Iranian users: “Our services are not available in your region for risk-based reasons.” No one explained what “risk-based” reasons amounted to.
LocalBitcoins has been perhaps the most popular bitcoin trading website among Iranian users, as it doesn’t require international credit card information – something Iranians have been cut off from for decades – and allows users to pay with their local bank accounts.
LocalBitcoins was trusted by many Iran-based bitcoin users because it holds funds in escrow until both sides have given final confirmation, thereby ensuring transaction safety and lowering fraud.
LocalBitcoins is just the latest of crypto currency exchanges to abandon Iran over the past year. Others include: Binance, Bittrex and ShapeShift.
