Iran has used cryptocurrencies to purchase $10 million worth of imports, a move that would allow it to circumvent U.S. sanctions.
The news was first announced by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, but little is known about the purchase order so far, including what cryptocurrencies Iran uses or which imports it has aggressively purchased.
Iran’s import order this time may be just the beginning. Iranian trade official Alireza Peyman-Pak tweeted,
By the end of September, the adoption of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be expanded for foreign trade with target countries.
Iran is also currently scheduled to launch a cryptocurrency version of the Iranian currency, the Iranian Rial, by the end of this month.
The political implications are obvious. “Reuters” pointed out that Iran’s purchase this time may circumvent the harsh sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran.
This is also not the first time that Iran’s cryptocurrency actions have attracted attention. According to a 2021 report by blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, Iran alone accounts for 4.5% of global bitcoin mining activity due to cheap electricity prices in the country, but this has also led the Iranian government to blame cryptocurrency miners for crashing the grid, Simply ban cryptocurrency mining.
Unlike El Salvador and the Central African Republic, Iran has not declared any cryptocurrencies as official legal tender, but with the release of the “encrypted rial” later this month, there is also the possibility of becoming official legal tender.
