Is Iran Using Bitcoin To Evade US Sanctions?

---

The Mullahs in Iran, aka the theocratic government officials, have long been reluctant to allow Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies for trade or speculation to its very young population.

In fact, there’s even been a crackdown on unlicensed Bitcoin mining. Just like in other authoritarian regimes, this is done because crypto comes with anonymity in trading, something dictators who prefer to control the money supply are not too keen of.

However, since this week, the Iranian Central Bank (ICB) changed its tack. In a news snippet which first appeared in the Financial Tribune (an Iranian English business newspaper), it was announced that the:

Central Bank of Iran said henceforth banks and licensed moneychangers can use cryptocurrency mined by authorized miners in Iran to pay for imports.

Imports disallowed

That may seem like good news until you think about the fact that imports of most goods are disallowed for Iran under sanctions imposed by the previous US administration. Although current President Joe Biden has not publicly acknowledged just yet whether or not he would continue this policy, it is clear that Iran could just be seeking for a way to circumvent the rule which forbids it from paying for certain goods in it’s local currency.

Thanks to Bitcoin payments, which can be made anonymous, the Mullahs could once again get to the goods that they so eagerly need.

Crypto analysts hope that this will not become another opportunity for opponents of Bitcoin, like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, to be able to point at the most famous digital currency and associate it with crimes and misdemeanors.

Photo by Chickenonline.