Struggling through decades of economic sanctions, Iran has placed its first international import order using $10 million worth of cryptocurrency, according to a senior government trade official.
News that the Islamic republic placed its first import order using crypto was подељен by Iran’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine & Trade Alireza Peyman-Pak in a Twitter post on Tuesday.
While the official did not disclose any details about the cryptocurrency used or the imported goods involved, Peyman-Pak said that the $10 million order represents the first of many international trades to be settled with crypto, with plans to ramp this up over the next month, noting:
„До краја септембра, употреба криптовалута и паметних уговора биће широко коришћена у спољној трговини са циљним земљама.
Iran was, up until February this year, the most sanctioned country in the world. Iran gets most of its imports from China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, and Turkey, према to Trading Economics.
However, Russia now takes the top spot as the најсанкционисанија нација in the world following its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
The Islamic nation has been positioned to embrace cryptocurrencies as early as 2017. In October 2020, it amended previously issued legislation to allow cryptocurrency to be used for funding imports.
In June 2021, the Iranian Trade Ministry issued 30 operating licenses to Irani miners to mine cryptocurrencies, which then must be sold to Iran’s central bank. Iran is now using those mined coins for import payments.
In February, Iran was also looking at a дигитална валута централне банке (ЦБДЦ) built on the Hyperledger Fabric protocol as a means to improve its existing financial infrastructure.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-makes-10m-import-with-crypto-plans-widespread-use-by-end-of-sept