The cryptocurrency market has grown tremendously over the past year, leading several countries to make moves towards regulating it. The Iranian central bank wants to ban the trading of cryptocurrencies mined outside the country.
Iranian central bank to regulate the crypto trading market
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has revealed that it intends to ban the trading of cryptocurrencies not mined within the country. This move would see Iranians only trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies mined in the country.
According to the news outlet Iran International, the move is designed to stop capital flight from the country. Iran is facing several sanctions from the United States, making it tough for them to conduct international trades. This has affected their national currency, and the move to ban the trading of cryptos mined outside Iran is to curb the depreciation of the national currency.
Fatemeh Fannizadeh, Swiss qualified independent practitioner and attorney at law, explained the move in a series of tweets. She stated that “Crypto is already regulated in Iran. Mining is a legal industry, while trading is banned, to my understanding. This just means that Iran wants to export Iranian produced coins more aggressively, encourage mining, and counter capital flight in the face of a depreciating Rial.”
Iran continues with crypto adoption
Iran is one of the leading countries in terms of cryptocurrency mining. Cryptocurrency activities are legal in the country. However, the government has banned the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for local goods and services.
Last month, the CBI directed banks and forex shops to start using cryptocurrencies to import goods. Iran is using this strategy to annul the effects of trading sanctions put in place by the United States.
The central bank is already buying cryptocurrencies mined by local miners and using them to pay for foreign imports. Iranian miners are obligated to sell their cryptocurrencies to the government.
