Iran accepting crypto as payment for imports

The Islamic Republic of Iran officially accepts crypto as payment for importing goods. The country’s Industry, Mines, and Trade Ministry have approved a legal framework for virtual currencies. Iran is facing international sanctions, so it expects to bypass them using crypto.

Earlier in August, Iran also made its first import via cryptocurrencies. The order was worth $10 million, which allowed it to avoid global restrictions.

Trade Minister on the legislation

A local news agency reported that Reza Fatemi Amin, the Trade Minister, has approved the legislation to regulate digital currencies. He briefed that this legislation will deal with all the issues like trade, licensing, and mining.

Amin shared his thoughts on the legislation and said it “specifies all issues related to cryptocurrencies, including how to provide fuel and energy for mining them, and how to grant licences.”

Accepting crypto as a payment method to evade sanctions

Iran is facing financial sanctions globally for enriching Uranium for its nuclear program. The United Nations, as well as the EU, have imposed several restrictions on the country. Moreover, as the government has estranged relations with the United States, it cannot freely participate in the global dollar-dominated market.

These restrictions have severely affected Iran’s economy over the years. That’s why the Islamic Republic is seeking to circumvent these restrictions through the use of digital assets. It will allow the country to import or export any goods worldwide. With this, it has become one of the largest economies for formally accepting crypto as a payment method.

However, Iran is not the only one to approve digital assets for evading financial restrictions. Earlier, Russia also started using the same strategy to bypass sanctions and avoid international limitations for trading.

Countries bypassing sanctions by accepting crypto as payment may produce new regulations to monitor businesses accepting crypto for exports shortly.