- Iran has paid for an import in cryptocurrency in an effort to bypass U.S. sanctions
- The unnamed $10 million import was paid for in an unnamed cryptocurrency
- The move could act as a blueprint to other sanctioned states
Iran has starkly highlighted one of the core benefits of cryptocurrency after paying for an import worth $10 million in an unnamed digital asset. The move, which the country says will be the first of many, is intended to allow it to bypass U.S. sanctions and could offer a blueprint for other nations under similar oppression. The development will be a worry for the U.S., who see economic sanctions on what it terms rogue nations as a way of keeping them in check.
Iran’s Crypto Revolution
Iran hasn’t always been a pro-crypto country. In May 2018 it banned all cryptocurrency exchanges, but the turnaround in attitude has been swift – within just a few months it reversed this ban and publicised plans to make its own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). In 2019 it even offered tax breaks for cryptocurrency miners, realising that it could tax the income on such activities rather than banning it.
All this had led to a kind of crypto revolution in Iran, which, unsurprisingly, ties in with increased sanctions on the country. This latest development is undoubtedly the most serious as far as western politicians will be concerned.
The First of Many
Reuters reported yesterday that a deal was struck for an unnamed import to be paid for in an unnamed cryptocurrency, citing a representative for the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade as saying that, “By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widely used in foreign trade with target countries.
If Iran’s trial proves successful, it could pave the way for other ‘rogue states’ to adopt cryptocurrencies in a similar manner, leaving western powers with a headache as to how they deal with this new threat to their hegemony.
