Iran allows crypto payments for imports

The move could help the country circumvent US sanctions

Tehran has officially approved the use of cryptocurrency for imports instead of the US dollar and the euro, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin said on Monday.

“All the issues related to crypto-assets, including how to provide fuel and energy, and how to assign and grant licenses were devised,” the minister announced.

Earlier this month, the Islamic Republic made its first official import order using cryptocurrency, worth $10 million. It was a test run for allowing the country to trade through digital assets that bypass the US sanctions regime. The use of crypto will also allow trade with other countries under US restrictions.

It is expected that by the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts in Iran will be widely used in foreign trade.

Iran has been struggling through decades of economic restrictions, including an embargo on the country’s oil, banking, and shipping sectors. In 2019, the government amended digital asset laws to allow locally mined crypto for import payments. Iran gets most of its foreign goods from China, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Turkey, according to Trading Economics.

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