Tehran is taking action to be able to bypass looming US sanctions by launching a cryptocurrency that would assist the Islamic Republic trade oil even without dollar.
“We are trying to prepare the ground to use a domestic digital currency in the country,” Alireza Daliri, deputy for management and investment at the Directorate for Scientific and Technological Affairs, told Iranian news agency ISNA, as quoted by PressTV.
This currency would facilitate the transfer of money [to and from] anywhere in the world. Besides, it can help us at the time of sanctions.
The United States will abandon the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and re-impose sanctions “at the highest level” against the country, US President Donald Trump stated. The sanctions intend to limit Iran’s access to the US dollar payment system. Iran’s largest export product is oil, which is commonly traded in dollars around the world.
There were no details according the proposed national cryptocurrency have been provided by the Iranian media, but it could be backed by oil just like Venezuela’s petro, the digital cash that the South American country uses to bypass US sanctions.
Recently, Iran announced that its first national encrypted key had been advanced by having it based on blockchain technology. The key would be introduced into the country’s banking system and has the possibility to be used as a token for international settlements.
While the whole cryptocurrency market is still down at the moment, the applications of the blockchain technology only improves as time passes. With more interests coming in from institutions and government, the blockchain is slowly creeping in to mainstream adoption, which could hopefully boost the crypto economy as a whole.
