The Central Bank of Iran wants to prevent financial institutions and banks in Iran from getting involved in the transactions of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Concerned about the illegal use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering and terrorist financing, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has decided to ban the use of technology in financial institutions, as reported by the country’s national news agency. issued a circular on Sunday. The announcement, which became public yesterday, was accepted by Iran’s money laundering committee in December 2017.
Alert in the broadcast:
“Cryptocurrencies, money laundering They have the potential to be used for money laundering, supporting terrorism, and many more illegal transactions.”
According to the report, banks, credit institutions and exchanges should now avoid selling or buying cryptocurrencies and do not use any means to promote them.
Is Ban Enforceable?
However, the extent to which the central bank can thwart local cryptocurrency activity, given both the availability of technology and the supportive views of some government officials It remains unclear.
In recent weeks, the country’s Minister of Information and Communication Technologies announced in February that Iran’s central bank is developing a cryptocurrency that will be administered by the state government. In a statement, Iran’s cybersecurity secretary went so far as to say that the country would “welcome” bitcoin, provided there are appropriate regulations.
And previously, Deputy Director of the Ministry of New Technology, Naser Hakimi, said in November that the center He said that his bank is working on Bitcoin and plans to comprehensively review its policies in this area.. However, his statements focused on the “uncertainty” and “risk” that emerged with the crypto-currency speculation in the market.
How the financial institutions in Iran will react to these statements remains unclear.
CoinDesk