According to a recent announcement by Iranian newspaper, the country’s Central Bank has officially banned any use of cryptocurrencies in financial transactions within the country. The mentioned key reason was stated as the prevention of crimes such as money laundering and terrorism.
The official report that was released by the Donya-e Eqtesad daily earlier, clearly stated that the government ban applies to “all monetary and financial centers of the country,” this includes banks, financial institutes and currency exchange offices.
State news agency IRNA quoted a highlight from the official announcement made back in December, 2017 where the initial warnings were set out from the government about possible ban of cryptocurrencies in the country. The highlight also stated that the Iranian government urges all the financial institutions in the country to not only avoid any sale or/ and purchase of these currencies but also not to take any possible action to promote them.
In addition the move by the Iranian government can be also seen as an effort by Tehran to control the currency market after the local currency hit all-time low value that was registered earlier this month. During this period, Iran formally unified its official and open market exchange rates and banned money changing outside of banks.
As known, cryptocurrencies are issued and exchanged independent from any banks or governments. Transactions which are made by these currencies are typically anonymous. At the same time any cryptocurrency can be converted into real cash anytime a user chooses to do so. The exchange can be possible when a desired amount is deposited into accounts while the prices for the transaction are set in online trading.
Meanwhile it is important to note that cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin have never been authorized in Iran in the past however it was always possible to trade the currencies in parallel markets.
