The Center for Electronic Commerce Development, affiliated with Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade has called on the Central Bank of Iran to announce cryptocurrency regulations without further delay.
In a note to the bank, the center again appealed for the final position of the regulator on the work of crypto exchanges and lendtech companies, the two major players in the domestic digital economy, Tasnim News Agency said.
It referred to the CBI's latest move obliging the ‘e-Namad’ trust logo for all online businesses saying that the operations of crypto exchanges and lendtechs has thus far been undermined because they are not listed as legal industries.
On Oct 8, Shaparak, the local payment settlement network, in a note to payment facilitators warned that their business would be suspended if they fail to acquire the logo and do not suspend services to businesses without e-Namad within six weeks. The move triggered a flood of criticism from fintechs.
The trust logo apparently seeks to display that online services offered by such sites are safer than websites lacking the symbols and have government approval.
However, applicants need to go through time-consuming and bloated bureaucracies to obtain the badge.
Fintechs claim that the anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, under which online services must have the e-Namad logo on their website, do not require payment facilitators to do likewise.
Crypto Rules
First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber in November announced new rules for crypto assets that included some addition to 2019 regulations.
Cryptominers should get special permits from the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade and permission from the ministry for importing equipment. The Iran Standard Organization should approve the mining equipment before it is used.
The CBI has allowed banks and licensed moneychangers to use digital currency mined by authorized miners in Iran to pay for imports.
As in the past, the new rules only cover mining of cryptocurrencies, extending the ban on trade in cryptos. According to the regulations, traders should take responsibility for using cryptocurrencies and beware that the risks will not be covered or compensated by the government and banks.
Observers are not convinced and say the new rules do not go far enough in addressing the drawbacks and deficiencies that have long deprived the sector of the growth it deserves.
Iran Blockchain Association has condemned moves to block websites, applications and other online platforms involved in crypto trade.
The association referred to official concerns about protecting the people’s interests, saying that blocking local platforms will not help as people will shift to foreign platforms and possibly put their assets at risk.
"This is not the solution. Experience has it that measures to inhibit innovative technology come at a cost and are unsuccessful. It is obvious that technology moves forward" come what may, the association warned.
In March 2021 following stringent anti-money laundering measures, the CBI ordered Shaparak, the e-payment settlement network, to block online payment gateways owned by crypto exchange websites.
Later 60,000 people involved in the crypto business signed a petition asking former president Hassan Rouhani to stop blocking crypto exchanges. Soon after media outlets published a letter from his office in which the CBI was asked not to block cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mining has said that an estimated 12 million Iranians have invested in digital currencies.
