The secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace, Abolhassan Firouzabadi, has announced the official listing of crypto mining as an industry in the country. Firouzabadi disclosed this to IBENA, a local news agency affiliated to the central bank of Iran on 4th September. 

He said that the mining of cryptocurrency in the country has been officially approved and recognized by major government ministries. This includes the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Central Bank, Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade, Ministry of Energy, as well the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance.

Currently, no regulatory decision has been made in regards to the mining of cryptocurrency. The council, however, says it is working on the framework and final policies for the participation of startups in the cryptocurrency sphere.

The regulatory framework is expected to be released by the end of September 22. After this, it is likely that the final policy for legislating crypto mining will be declared, even though no timeline has been disclosed for this purpose.

Iran’s Cryptocurrency Project Being Pursued

Firouzabadi also confirmed recent reports that the country is looking forward to creating its cryptocurrency. The currency will serve as a relief by allowing financial transactions between Iran and other Nations amid US sanctions.

We reported last month, that the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, instructed the preparation of the draft on the backing of the state-owned cryptocurrency project. At that time, the deputy director for the cyberspace council, Saeed Mahdiyoun, said that the plan to create a CBDC is being pursued in the recent meetings of the High Council for Cyberspace.

It can be recalled that the US imposed new sanctions to cut the sales of oil in Iran despite the commodity being the lifeblood of the country’s economy. Iran is hoping to adopt cryptocurrencies to make up for whatever consequences the US sanction will have on its economy.

Countries Adopting Cryptocurrencies to Ease Economy deficit, And Facilitate Transactions

Iran’s move on cryptocurrency is not the first time a nation would establish a cryptocurrency project to turn negative sanctions to their advantage. In February, the South American country of Venezuela followed a similar approach. It established its cryptocurrency called Petro, to curb an upcoming sanction on oil by the US.

Also in Japan, a group of banks backed by Japan’s Central Bank is looking to develop a virtual currency called J-coin. They hope that the new coin will be used for the 2020 Olympic Games taking place in the country.

In line with Japan’s move, leading banks including HSBC, Barclays, UBS, and Santander are developing a “Universal Settlement Coin”. This will make trade between the banks easier and was inspired by the success of digital currencies like bitcoin.

Your crypto deserves the best security. Get a Ledger hardware wallet for just $79!