Bitcoin News and Finance Crypto Trading, Investing Illegal in Iran, Central Bank Governor Reiterates Skip to main content

Crypto Trading, Investing Illegal in Iran, Central Bank Governor Reiterates

Crypto Trading, Investing Illegal in Iran, Central Bank Governor Reiterates

It is illegal to buy or sell cryptocurrency in Iran, the head of the country’s monetary authority has recently reminded citizens and businesses. The governor noted, however, that mining cryptocurrencies and using them in payments for imports is not against the law in the Islamic Republic.

Top Banker Confirms Crypto Trading Still Illegal in Iran

The purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies or using the digital assets for investment purposes is prohibited, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Ali Salehabadi, has recently told local media. At the same time, authorized persons and entities can legally mine crypto that can be employed for international settlements, the official pointed out.

Referring to regulations adopted by the bank and other government institutions such as the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade two years ago, the CBI chief elaborated that it is legal for Iranian companies to pay for imports with cryptocurrency. He was quoted in a report by the English-language edition of the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) on Friday.

Salehabadi’s comments came after on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Trade Alireza Peymanpak announced Iran’s first import order using cryptocurrency as a payment method. The government representative, who also leads the nation’s Trade Promotion Organization, revealed that the Islamic Republic bought $10 million worth of goods using digital coins.

However, Iranian authorities are not willing to allow crypto payments inside Iran and earlier this year, Deputy Minister of Communications Reza Bagheri Asl dashed any hopes for that. Crypto trading and investing are not tolerated either, and the government cracked down on local exchanges, allowing only banks and licensed moneychangers to use digital currency mined in Iran to pay for imports.

Since 2019, when the authorities in Tehran recognized mining as a legitimate industrial activity, a number of enterprises have been licensed to mint digital currencies like bitcoin. But the energy-intensive production has been blamed as one of the causes for the growing electricity shortages and blackouts across the country, especially during the hot summers, when consumption spikes due to rising demand for cooling, and the cold winter months, when heating needs increase.

As a result, registered crypto farms were told to shut down their power-hungry equipment on more than one occasion in the past two years, while the Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company, Tavanir, went after illegal miners busting thousands of underground crypto farms.

The illegal facilities are often running on subsidized electricity in residential areas. Last month, the utility vowed severe measures against this kind of unauthorized mining. ILNA quotes an estimate by Iranian officials who claim that a single bitcoin mining machine consumes as much energy as 24 households.

In his interview, Governor Salehabadi also turned viewers’ attention to the CBI’s plan to introduce a ‘crypto rial,’ or a central bank digital currency issued by the Iranian monetary authority which is expected to partially replace paper cash. In April, the central bank informed financial institutions about upcoming regulations pertaining to the issuance of a digital rial, indicating it’s preparing to pilot the CBDC.

Do you think Iran may change its stance on crypto trading, investing, and payments in the future? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Blogarama - Blog Directory