The Iranian Importers Association has called on authorities to provide the country with specific legislation that should regulate cryptocurrencies in Iran. The call comes days after the government made public its intention to systematize the use of cryptocurrency for its import payments.
The current legislation worries the economic operators
The Iranian Importers Association on Saturday, August 20, expressed serious concerns about the current regulation of the cryptocurrency sector in the country amid growing use of digital currencies, including by the country’s authorities, to circumvent economic sanctions.
According to Bitcoin.com, which cites local press, Alireza Managhebi, president of the association fears that the delay in establishing stable regulations will harm operators in the cryptocurrency sector.
The main question is whether the Iranian government has planned fixed rules for the use of cryptocurrencies that will not change for several months, and whether, in the meantime, companies active in this digital field will not be harmed.
Alireza Managhebi, president of the Iranian Importers Association
The latter also called on Iranian authorities to strengthen popular education and put in place clear rules to take full advantage of the formalization of the use of cryptocurrencies for payments in connection with imports.
It is absolutely necessary to educate and train people to use this new technology in Iran and at the same time have a stable regulation in this regard.
Alireza Managhebi, President of the Iranian Importers Association
While visibly pleased by the formalization of cryptocurrency as a means of paying for imports, Alireza doesn’t believe it undermines the dollar’s dominance in Iran. For him, cryptocurrency AND the dollar have their place in the Iranian market.
Iran increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies
To get around the sanctions that have been imposed on it since 2006 and that largely affect the country’s economy, Iran is increasingly using cryptocurrency to make international transactions.
Last week, the Islamic republic made its first cryptocurrency payment of nearly $10 million to settle an import order.
Alireza Peymanpak, Iran’s deputy minister for industry, mining and trade, announced the news. He also informed that “by the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with some key countries.”
It is certainly doubtful that the use of international crypto transactions will end the dominance of the US dollar in the Iranian market. However, it is still obvious that this move will allow Iran to bypass the sanctions that have been weighing on its economy for several years. Like El Salvador and the Central African Republic, Iran could have done even more by formalizing the use of bitcoin as a legal tender.
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