Iran’s initiative to launch a national digital currency has reached to the final stage of development. The project related draft was requested by President Hassan Rohani, the local Financial Tribune news center reported on Saturday, according to a government statement.
Deputy Director responsible for regulation drafting for High Council dedicated to cyberspace, Mahdiyoun Saeed, reportedly told IBENA, an Iranian news agency, that the draft is prepared and will be soon lawfully publicized. He added that the proposal of introducing a national cryptocurrency has been actively chased at recent council meetings.
Iran’s judgment to build up a national digital currency was unveiled last month and comes in a revert to recent economic sanctions led by the United States as a means of facilitating money transfer anywhere in the world.
In May, US President Donald Trump pulled out from a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 and announced at the same time that the previous sanctions of economic access with Iran would be reinstated, which cut the access of US dollars to Iran, among other restrictions.
The Iranian movement is like the launch of the digital currency based on oil, named as Petro. Recently, President Nicolas Maduro announced the launch of a latest national currency, which will be linked to Petro.
Iran has a tumultuous experience with cryptocurrencies. In November 2017, the Council of Cyberspace declared that virtual currencies were considered beneficial for Iran, as they were legally approved. At the same time, economic uncertainty, inflation, and rival devaluation have encouraged Iranians to turn to digital currency. The country bought about $2.5 Billion worth cryptos. This meant that the government was taking action, such as blocking access to cryptocurrency exchange of foreign sites. The central bank also has ban cryptocurrency trade due to concerns about money laundering.
Mahdiyoun revealed IBENA last week that the authorities will soon withdraw cryptocurrencies’ uncertainty at the end of September; the Central Bank of Iran will present its official viewpoint on the issue.
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