The semi-official Tasnim agency reported on Tuesday that Iran placed its first official import order using cryptocurrency this week. This could allow the Islamic Republic to get around economic sanctions imposed by the United States.
The $10 million order was a first step toward enabling the nation to conduct business with other nations similarly constrained by U.S. sanctions, such as Russia, and through digital assets that do not rely on the dollar. Which cryptocurrency was utilised in the transaction was not made clear by the agency.
An official from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Commerce stated on Twitter that ‘by the end of September, the usage of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts would be widely implemented in foreign trade with target countries.’
Iran is subject to an almost complete economic embargo by the United States, which includes a prohibition on all imports, including those from its banking, shipping, and oil industries.
A payments instrument created in 2008 with the goal of undermining state control over banking and economies, Tehran is one of the largest economies that has not yet adopted bitcoin technology.
According to a research conducted last year, Iran accounted for 4.5% of all bitcoin mining activity, in part because to the low cost of electricity there. Hundreds of millions of dollars could be made by Iran through cryptocurrency mining, which could be used to pay for imports and lessen the effects of sanctions.
Because of their high volatility, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are unsuitable for use in large-scale payments.
The 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal was revived on Monday, according to the European Union, after four days of indirect negotiations between American and Iranian officials concluded in Vienna.
Iran restricted its nuclear programme in accordance with the 2015 agreement in exchange for respite from U.S., EU, and UN sanctions. However, former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear agreement in 2018 and reinstated severe U.S. sanctions, which led to Tehran beginning to violate the agreement’s nuclear limitations about a year later.
One of the world’s poorest nations, the Central African Republic (CAR), has recently adopted cryptocurrency. In April, it became the first African nation to recognise bitcoin as legal tender, and this month it introduced its own digital currency.
El Salvador also made bitcoin legal tender last year, but the proposal has encountered opposition from the general population due to falling cryptocurrency prices.
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