Iran has placed its first official cryptocurrency import order worth $10 million, according to a government official. “By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts in foreign trade with destination countries will be widespread,” the official added.
Iran uses crypto to place an import order
Iran this week placed its first official import order for $10 million worth of cryptocurrency goods. Alireza Peymanpak, Deputy Minister of Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade and President of the country’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), announced via Twitter on Tuesday:
This week, the first official cryptocurrency import order worth $10 million was successfully placed.
“By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts in foreign trade with destination countries will be widespread,” the tweet continued.
Alireza Peymanpak’s tweet about the import job placed with crypto. Source: Twitter
Iran has been considering allowing the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for imports for over a year. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced last August that banks and licensed currency exchanges can use cryptocurrency mined by licensed crypto miners in Iran to pay for imports.
The Iranian government approved cryptocurrency mining as an industry in 2019. In January 2020, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade issued over 1,000 licenses for cryptocurrency mining.
However, Iranian authorities said some unauthorized miners are using household electricity for cryptocurrency mining, causing major problems for the country’s electricity industry. Licensed crypto miners have been ordered to shut down operations several times to prevent power outages. In September last year, authorities reportedly seized over 220,000 mining machines and shut down nearly 6,000 illegal crypto mining farms across the country.
In April this year, an official with the Iranian Energy Production, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said that the country’s government would approve new rules to increase penalties for unauthorized cryptocurrency mining.
What do you think of Iran using crypto to issue import orders? Let us know in the comments section below.
Kevin Helms
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