Iranian companies can now pay for imports with crypto, but there’s a catch

Iranian firms can now pay for imports with cryptocurrencies, but only if it’s mined in the country by authorized crypto miners. In its latest announcement, the Central Bank of Iran revealed a new regulatory framework that allows forex companies and banks to pay for such imports as electronics and raw materials. Iran has in the past sought to encourage digital currency block reward mining by allowing power plants to engage in the activity.

Iranian government blamed crypto mining for the power disruptions.

Iranian government turned around on the industry and blamed it for the power disruptions that affect the country. In the past year, Iran has shut down over 1,600 block reward mining operations that it claimed were operating illegally. The government blamed that crypto miners’ crime was using the subsidized electricity that Iran allocates to households for most of them. Now, the government wants to encourage digital currency payments. According to a Financial Tribune report, the only condition is that the digital currencies must be derived from authorized block reward miners. 

Iran has been working towards enabling crypto payments since last year.

The Iranian government has been working towards enabling digital currency payments since October last year. The central bank and the Ministry of Energy amended a law that made it legal to fund imports with digital currencies. However, the bank would strictly monitor cryptocurrency payments at all times. The official report from the central bank stated, “The miners are supposed to supply the original cryptocurrency directly and within the authorized limit to the channels introduced by the CBI.” While Iran promotes crypto payments, it has been cracking down on cryptocurrency trading. Earlier, the head of the country’s Digital Economic Commission called for the government to ban the trial from purchasing cryptocurrencies.

Contributed by Coinnounce.