The Central Bank of Iran said henceforth banks and licensed moneychangers can use cryptocurrency mined by authorized miners in Iran to pay for imports.
It said lenders and moneychangers have been notified about the regulatory framework for crypto payment. No further details were announced, the CBI website reported.
Back in October 2020, the government ratified regulations for legal cryptocurrency mining that allowed digital currency to be would be used for imports. The measure proposed then by the CBI and Ministry of Energy, required licensed cryptominers to sell the coins they mine directly to the CBI.
In 2019 the government recognized cryptocurrency mining as a legal industry. As per rules, miners had to apply for operating permit from the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade. However, electricity was sold to the miners at rates much higher than the subsidized rates to regular subscribers. So far 24 cryptomining centers and farms using 310 MW have official permits.
After the former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement and imposed sanctions in 2018, the CBI was asked to allow the use of the block chain technology to evade the hostile economic restrictions.
In a report published in 2018, the Majlis Research Center called for the targeted use of cryptocurrencies to circumvent the Trumpian economic blockade.
"According to experts, one way to avoid the adverse effects of the unjust sanctions is to use cryptocurrencies for foreign trade," the think-tank said.
Cryptocurrency can be used to import electronics, says Shahab Javanmardi, a member of the Iran Chamber of Commerce Industries Mining and Agriculture, noting that a change in government approach is vital for such deals.
"Repatriating forex revenue from exporting gas and electricity is not possible under the present [US sanctions]. The government can promote use of excess electricity output or power generated by small-scale plants for cryptomining," Eximnews quoted him as saying.
He proposed creating a central market, like the secondary foreign exchange market, through which cryptocurrency could be sold to local companies wanting to import machinery and goods.
Sajed Nikpour, a member of the ICCIMA commission for promoting non-oil export, says the private sector supports the use of cryptocurrency only in foreign trade. "Cryptocurrencies should [also] be used to boost domestic production…such as for importing raw material."
He stressed that “measures in this regard must be transparent."
However, experts and market analysts argue the Iran’s commercial and financial transactions are too heavy to be handled efficiently by blockchain.
