The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and Iran’s Ministry of Trade have struck a deal with local businesses to allow cryptocurrencies for international trade.
According to the state-run Mehr News Agency, the proposed mechanism will link CBI to Iran’s Comprehensive Trade System and allow businesses to settle payments using cryptocurrencies.
The development comes as Iran seeks more avenues to bypass economic sanctions imposed by the US in 2012 in response to its nuclear activities and the international community’s worries at the time.
According to the Tehran Times, the decision was made last week by Alireza Peyman Pak, the deputy minister and head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, an affiliate of the Ministry of Commerce. “We are finalizing a mechanism for operations of the system. This should provide new opportunities for importers and exporters to use cryptos in their international deals,” he stated.
From an overall perspective, Iran’s stance on cryptocurrencies has shifted in recent years. Last year in May, its authorities banned the domestic sale of crypto assets sourced through foreign streams in an effort to limit capital flight, which is seen by the government as weakening the Iranian Rial.
Interestingly at the time, the ban came a month after Iran’s central bank said that regulated institutions and money changers could use locally mined cryptocurrencies to circumvent US sanctions and encourage economic activity.
