In an effort to increase trade within the nation, Iran’s Trade Ministry has approved the use of cryptocurrency payments for imports.
In light of continued international trade sanctions, Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade has authorized the use of cryptocurrency for imports.
The country’s trade minister, Reza Fatemi Amin, reportedly acknowledged that specific legislation regulating the usage of cryptocurrencies for trade and providing fuel and energy to Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency miners in the country had been authorized.
On August 28, a week after the nation had made its first-ever import order for vehicles worth $10 million using bitcoin as payment, Amin described the regulation shift at an automotive industry exhibition. By September 2022, the usage of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be pervasive in international trade, according to previous predictions by the Iranian trade ministry.
Iran’s Import Association demanded clear regulatory guidelines in the wake of the cryptocurrency-funded import to prevent local companies and importers from being constrained by ambiguous regulations.
The minister stated that all aspects of cryptocurrencies are covered by the new legislation, including the procedure for granting licenses and the provision of fuel and energy to local mining companies.
It is claimed that local businesses will be able to pay with cryptocurrency rather than dollars or euros to import autos and a variety of other foreign items into Iran.
Opposition to Iran’s nuclear program has led to international trade sanctions against the country, effectively cutting it off from the world banking system.
Given the decentralized nature of public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are not controlled by government or central agencies, Iran has subsequently turned its attention to adopting cryptocurrencies as a way to address and maybe evade sanctions for imports.
In June 2021, the Iranian Ministry of Mines, Industry, and Trade issued operational licenses to 30 crypto-mining facilities there, and more than 2,500 applications for new mining operations received approval. To relieve pressure on the national grid in the months that followed, the government also cracked down on unauthorized mining operations and even issued a three-month mining embargo.
