Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is said to be planning to revoke it’s blanket ban on cryptocurrencies as it introduces the new regulations to govern the digital market towards the end of September. That's according to Nasser Hakimi, CBI's innovative technologies deputy.
“The high council of anti-money laundering has imposed a ban in light of concerns over global allegations of money laundering and financing of terrorists … but it seems that after government considerations, this ban will be lifted,” said Hakimi during a summit in Tehran.
CBI’s deputy also added that the regulations will deal with four aspects of the legal framework, as the focus will not be just on the financial sector. He clarified that an individual approach will be developed, and look at as the “crypto mining industry”.
Earlier, In April this year, CBI has imposed a blanket ban on all cryptocurrencies sighting a need to combat the money laundering and terrorist activity.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
1) Despite the ban, Iranian crypto exchanges continued operating, forcing the government to come up with a regulatory framework.
2) Recently, the government has signed off on a new crypto draft that would see Iran issue its own national currency in a bid to combat U.S. sanctions, by tokenizing Iranian rial.