Iran Greenlights Bitcoin, Kryptobetalinger for import: Rapport

• Iran has passed legislation establishing a legal framework for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
• Under the new law, cryptocurrency can be used as payment for imports to the country by government and local businesses.
• The law also addresses fuel supply and electrical consumption for bitcoin mining.

Iran passed an act which enables the use of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments for imports through a comprehensive legal framework, per a report from local news outlet Tasnim.

I følge rapporten avslørte den iranske industri-, gruve- og handelsministeren Reza Fatemi Amin at den nylig vedtatte loven definerer forskrifter om kryptovalutaer, adresserer forsyningsbekymringer for drivstoff- og elektrisitetskostnader for gruvedrift og gir autorisasjon for administrasjonen til å bruke kryptovalutaer.

Minister Fatemi Amin reportedly reiterated the authorization was an agreement between the Ministry of Industry and the Central Bank –– arguably suggesting a multi-departmental consensus on the viability of bitcoin as a means for international payments.

Additionally, Fatemi Amin also noted that local businesses will be able to import vehicles by using bitcoin, instead of the U.S. dollar or the euro. Tasnim highlighted the move comes on the heels of an August 9 announcement by the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) saying the country registered its first import order processed with cryptocurrency. The order was reportedly valued over $10 million.

Harkening tilbake til mai i fjor, Iran tidligere utestengt the mining of bitcoin citing power grid concerns. Additionally, the Irananian central bank also utestengt handel med kryptovalutaer utvunnet utenfor landet i samme måned. Gruveforbudet ble senere løftet i oktober bare for å være gjeninnført desember samme år, nok en gang med henvisning til bekymringer for strømnettet.

Therefore, one could argue that Iran is taking this step towards comprehensive reform to take a firm and more long-standing stance on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.