July 24, 2020
Saeed Mohammad, commander of the Khatam ol Anbiya Construction Complex – a branch of the Pasdaran – has suggested Iran use cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions.
According to a report from the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), Mohammad said Iranians are “demanding a more sophisticated mechanism to circumvent sanctions” that have been imposed by the United States.
“We are calling for the activation of the use of crypto-currencies, and we want bilateral or multilateral monetary agreements,” he said.
The website Coin Rivet has reported extensively on Iran’s efforts to bypass sanctions through cryptocurrencies, with a report in February revealing how Iranian banks floated the idea of launching their own cryptocurrency.
Iran having control of a native cryptocurrency would allow it to bypass certain measures imposed by the US, including a ban on buying US dollars, they argue. However, a Venezuelan effort to do just that flopped over a year ago.
The proposal has been received well by numerous technology experts in the country, namely cryptocurrency expert Ziya Sadr, who told The New York Times: “Bitcoin cannot be sanctioned by anyone—not by the US government or any other government or other financial entities.”
But a bigger question is how many of the foreign firms Iran wants to buy from or sell to are willing to transact business in cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, crypto-currency is touted by many as a sanctuary from market fluctuations, but, on Monday, Match 9, the cryptocurrency market saw $26 billion in value erased within 24 hours.
