Iran to allow crypto payments for international trade: Report

Iran is reportedly looking to unlock opportunities for importers and exporters to use crypto in international deals.

The Central Bank of Iran, or CBI, and the ministry of trade have reached an agreement to link the CBI’s payment platform to a trade system allowing businesses to settle payments using cryptocurrencies, the Mehr News Agency reported Monday.

Alireza Peyman-Pak, Iran’s deputy minister of Industry, Mine and Trade and head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, or TPO, said that the new payment mechanism is expected to be finalized “within the next two weeks.”

“We are finalizing a mechanism for operations of the system. This should provide new opportunities for importers and exporters to use cryptocurrencies in their international deals,” Peyman-Pak reportedly said.

He added that the government should not be ignoring the economic and business opportunities of the crypto industry, referring to major private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC):

The Iranian government is reportedly preparing a mechanism to enable the use of cryptocurrencies in international trade.

“All economic actors can use these cryptocurrencies. The trader takes the ruble, the rupee, the dollar, or the euro, which he can use to obtain cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which is a form of credit and can pass it on to the seller or importer. […] Since the cryptocurrency market is done on credit, our economic actors can easily use it and use it widely.”

The CBI did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. This article will be updated pending new information.

The crypto industry has been associated with some extent of uncertainty as Iran’s major blockchain organization expressed concerns about the enforcement of crypto regulations in late 2021. The Iranian government has also been regularly turning off electricity to local Bitcoin miners, citing extremely high or low temperatures.