The Central Bank of Iran gave the green light for commercial banks and foreign exchange houses to process import payments with bitcoin (BTC). Requests must only handle cryptocurrencies mined by miners legally established in the country.
Financial institutions and exchange houses have already been notified about the regulatory framework to follow, according to a report by the local newspaper Financial Tribune. However, no details were provided on whether there are limits in terms of amounts, payment of commissions or what criteria should be used to process payments with the first cryptocurrency.
The central bank’s decision could be interpreted as a change in its guidelines on the handling of cryptocurrencies for the payment of international providers. The monetary authority would no longer be the only entity to have the power to manage payments with BTC, although it would be the only one for settlements, although it is not clear how it will work.
The above is deduced since in October of last year
CriptoNoticias reported that the bank would finance imports with cryptocurrencies, but forcing local miners, duly authorized, to sell their bitcoins. That is to say, the liquidity would not be provided by the institution by its own means, but the miners are the ones who must play this role.
The authorities themselves are currently designing legislation that would serve to lay the foundations for a new regulatory framework. The state’s approach would be to overturn the entire mining industry in favor of its national interests, beyond an approach for its technology.
