Iran's Central Bank Agrees CBI Platform Can Use Crypto

The Iranian government is getting soft on crypto trading. (photo: doc. unsplash_

JAKARTA - The Central Bank of Iran, or CBI, and Iran's Ministry of Commerce have reached an agreement to connect the CBI payment platform to a trading system that allows businesses to settle payments using cryptocurrencies. The deal was also reported by Mehr News Agency Monday, January 10.

Alireza Peyman-Pak, Iran's deputy minister of Industry, Mines and Trade and head of the Iran Trade Promotion Organization, or TPO, said that the new payment mechanism is expected to be finalized "within the next two weeks."

“We are finalizing the mechanism for the operation of the system. This will provide new opportunities for importers and exporters to use cryptocurrencies in their international deals,” Peyman-Pak said as quoted by Cointelegraph.

He added that the government should not ignore the economic and business opportunities of the crypto industry referring to major private cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC):

The Iranian government is reportedly preparing a mechanism to allow the use of cryptocurrencies in international trade.

“All economic actors can use this cryptocurrency. The merchant takes rubles, rupees, dollars or euros, which he can use to earn cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which is a form of credit and can give it to the seller or importer. [...] Since the cryptocurrency market is conducted on credit, our economic actors can easily use it and use it widely,” Alireza.

The crypto industry has been associated with a certain degree of uncertainty as Iran's major blockchain organization expresses concern about enforcing crypto regulations by the end of 2021. The Iranian government also regularly shuts off power to local Bitcoin miners, citing extreme temperatures.