Iran set to fund imports with legally mined cryptocurrencies

Iran has always had a strenuous relationship with cryptocurrencies and activities related to it like mining. The nation has been cracking down on illegal crypto mining operations, but has also tried to benefit from the introduction of legal cryptocurrency mining. Now, the nations central bank wants to use cryptocurrencies mined by licensed miners to pay for imports.

According to a recent report from the Financial Tribune, The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has now given banks and licensed currency exchangers the green light to use cryptocurrencies mined by licensed miners in the nation to pay for imports.

“The central bank says that lenders and licensed currency exchange offices have been notified about the regulatory framework for crypto payment,” the report said.

The plans to fund imports started last year in October after the government changed regulations that allowed legally mined Bitcoin in the country to be used by the Central Bank to fund imports. The Iranian Ministry of Energy and the Central Bank of Iran were responsible for enacting the changes to local legislation. These licensed miners are required to sell their cryptocurrencies to the central bank directly.

In January 2020 the Iranian government began issuing cryptocurrency mining licenses to operators in the country. Over 1000 licenses were issued at the beginning of the year. It had initially legalized cryptocurrency mining in August 2019. It had been reported that the cryptocurrency mining industry could add $8.5 billion to Irans economy, which was one of two major reasons for the move.

Crypto under watch

In addition to funding imports with crypto, Mohammadreza Pourebrahimi, head of the economic commission, has noted that the commission has been examining crypto activities in Iran for some time and is set to present results next week.

“We plan a bill in which a new mechanism for cryptocurrency-related activities is laid out,” he told Tasnim News Agency.

The bill is expected to define the various obligations of administrative bodies, primarily the Central Bank of Iran and the ICT, industries, energy and economy ministries.

Meanwhile, the nation continues to battle illegal mining activities and cracked down on 45,000 Bitcoin miners that have been illegally using subsidized electricity. The nation has been grappling with power issues and the nation also had to impose short-term shutdowns of authorized Bitcoin farms to prevent further strain on their power grid.