Iranian Lawmakers Want to Legalize Trade Using Cryptocurrency

EghtesadOnline: Majlis is trying to develop legal framework to allow trade in cryptocurrency, head of the economic commission said.

News ID: ۷۸۶۳۶۰

18 April 2021

Mohammadreza Pourebrahimi said the commission has done a comprehensive examination to this effect and will present its results next week.

"We plan a bill in which a new mechanism for cryptocurrency-related activities is laid out," he was quoted as saying by Tasnim News Agency.

The bill will define obligations of administrative bodies, namely the Central Bank of Iran and the ICT, industries, energy and economy ministries.

It is seen as an effective and long-awaited move to help alleviate the crippling impact of US sanctions, the MP said. The US banking sanctions has made money transfer almost impossible for Iranian banks.

The government has recognized cryptocurrency mining as a legal industry but trading in digital currencies is prohibited by the central bank.

Following the unilateral US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and imposition of sanctions in 2018, experts proposed the CBI allow use of blockchain and digital currency to evade the US economic blockade.

In a report published in 2018, the Majlis Research Center called for targeted use of cryptocurrency to circumvent the sanctions.

Last October, the government ratified regulations for legal cryptocurrency mining to help pay for imports. But the measure proposed by the CBI and the Ministry of Energy, requires licensed cryptominers to sell the coins they mine directly to the CBI.