US Sanctions on Iran Tighten with an Imposed Block on Cryptocurrency Mining

Iran’s tensions with the US seem to be seeping into the country’s digital aspect. As reported by Iran’s local news agency, the country’s Assistant Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply, Saeed Zarandi, has stated that the United States of America is leaning towards a total ban on Iran’s tryst with digital cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin services.

Reason Behind Crypto Hostilities

The US Congress cites cryptocurrency and digital operations as one of the most significant mediums to avoid imposed state sanctions and increase money laundering operations. As stated by Zarandi, the total ban would help in curbing the increasing concerns.

The ministry of Iran along with Iran’s Central Bank is reportedly working towards settling the issue of the imposed ban and the usage of cryptocurrency in the country.

Last year, in December 2018, the US Congress initiated bills centred around Iran’s illegitimate financial dealings which also included cryptocurrency. The bills as of now haven’t been passed yet.

The government of Iran has also approached a pretty hostile act towards bitcoin mining. Recently, in June, government authorities in Iran seized over a 1000 bitcoin mining machines. The news was followed up by the Ministry of Energy announcing a total cut of power outage to curb mining in the country.

Iran’s National Digital Currency

Even though the country’s digital sectors are on an opposition grind, Iran recently announced the development of a national digital currency, PayMon. The announcement was made at the annual Electronic Banking and Payment Systems National conference held in Tehran on 29 January. The new cryptocurrency would be similar to Petro, Venezuela’s digital currency. The digital currency is expected to come out in phases at first serving as a digital medium to process payments between the central bank and other enterprises in the digital realm. It would later be phased out in the public sector as a means of payment.