Iranian President Wants A National Crypto Mining Strategy

It seems like the tables have turned. Iran used to be hostile towards crypto not too long ago. And now, it is warming up to the industry in a big way. This is not a new trend. Many countries have been backtracking on their stance on crypto in the last few years. Iran is just the latest one to do so. The country’s president now wants a new approach to the emerging crypto sector. As such, he wants a national crypto mining strategy.

Also read: Iran HyperInflation, Bitcoin Sees Huge Demand

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have become important to Iran for several reasons. And to deal with the geopolitical issues on top of a pandemic, they will need crypto’s help. And this is exactly what President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the government to do. He has asked them to draw a totally new national approach for the nascent crypto industry.

New Crypto Regulation

bitcoin miners

Whenever a country that was averse to cryptos takes a U-turn on their stance, it is a wonderful sight. Iran is now preparing to draw favorable cryptocurrency regulations. This will allow Iranians to participate in a global industry. This truly showcases the borderless nature of cryptos. The president was recently chairing the economic coordination headquarters where he made his remarks.

He reportedly told officials from the Central Bank of Iran, energy department, and information and communication technology about the plan. He stated the importance of a strategy for crypto mining, including regulations and mining revenue. This happened just two days after the parliament had decided to get harsh on cryptos. They had published a bill proposing to apply their strict foreign exchange rules and currency smuggling regulations to cryptos.

Even if the bill passes, it would still allow cryptocurrency companies and exchanges to operate in the country. They would just have to adhere to high standards. One of them is that they have to register with the central bank first. This is probably a safety measure.

The news comes not too long after the government decided to denominate the Iranian currency. It was widely reported that they have decided to take off four zeros from their fiat currency.

Avoiding Sanctions

The US has imposed several sanctions on Iran. And since the American dollar is the world’s reserve currency, they have been successful in doing so. However, Iranians had started using cryptocurrencies to circumvent the sanctions. In fact, just a few months ago, the Trump administration raised concerns about exactly that.

This could be the prime reason why Iran has now accepted the crypto industry. In fact, it was one of the first countries to give legitimacy to cryptocurrency mining as an industry in 2019. They have handed out at least 1000 crypto mining licenses since then. Also, they have a 4% share in bitcoin’s total mining hash rate.

Also read: US Mining Firm Plans To Double Hash Rate After Bitcoin Halving

It could be that they want to make use of cryptos to avoid sanctions altogether. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are borderless and nobody can stop these transactions. As such, it seems like the logical next step for Iran’s government.