Iran Places First Official Import Order for USD 10 Million in Crypto

Iran Places First Official Import Order for USD 10 Million in Crypto

Iran has placed its first official import order using cryptocurrency worth USD 10 million, according to a government official. The official added that "by the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with target countries."

Iran Uses Crypto to Place an Import Order

This week, Iran placed its first official import order for USD 10 million worth of goods in cryptocurrency. Alireza Peymanpak, Vice Minister, Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, and President of the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), announced this on Twitter on Tuesday. The first official import order was successfully placed with cryptocurrency worth 10 million dollars.

"By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with target countries," his tweet further reads.

Iran has been contemplating using cryptocurrencies to pay for imports for over a year. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced in August last year that banks and licensed currency exchangers can use cryptocurrency mined by licensed crypto miners in Iran to pay for imports.

The Iranian government approved cryptocurrency mining as an industry in 2019. In January 2020, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade issued over 1,000 licenses for cryptocurrency mining operations in the country.

However, Iranian authorities are concerned about unauthorized miners using domestic electricity for cryptocurrency mining, resulting in major issues for the electricity sector. Licensed crypto miners were ordered to halt operations to prevent blackouts on several occasions. In September last year, the authorities reportedly confiscated over 220,000 mining machines and shut down nearly 6,000 illegal crypto mining farms across the country.

In April this year, an official with Iran’s Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company said the administration is likely to approve new rules to increase penalties for unauthorized cryptocurrency mining.