The Iranian Authorities Are Divided On The Legality Of Bitcoin

The Iranian authorities are divided on the issue of whether bitcoin is legal or not in the country. The people in the country are trying to bring the economy forward despite the economic sanctions imposed by the United States as previously reported in the altcoin news.

Crypto enthusiasts in the country cannot be very optimistic about cryptocurrencies yet. According to statements made by Nasser Hakimi who is the deputy governor for new technologies at the central bank of Iran, crypto trading is still illegal in the country and also banned by the government. Hakimi pointed out during an interview, that the spike in popularity for cryptocurrencies in Iran could be very dangerous for citizens because of their high volatility. There are also many risks that are associated with their use so he warned the traders that they risk losing the protection of the Iranian authorities if they fall for a scam or a fraud:

“[Iranians should be cautious] against the advertisements and marketers of pyramid style network companies that promote Bitcoin like a tree with gold coins in the Adventures of Pinocchio … The Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering has prohibited the sale and purchase of Bitcoin in Iran.”

The current status of cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin in Iran is very complicated to be explained mainly because of the different criteria that are given by different public authorities in the country. Hakimi, for example, clarified that it is essential to make a distinction between trading and mining because this very idea could imply that the supposed ban by the Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering does not affect crypto mining. However, the Iranian authorities confiscated more than 1,000 ASIC located in multiple mining farms just a week ago.

Also, as noted in the latest cryptocurrency news, the member of the Iranian Parliament’s Economic Committee Aliakbar Karimi, explained:

“Unfortunately, there is no specific law to monitor activities around cryptocurrencies in the country and it is essential that the government prepares a specific bill for determining the fate of cryptocurrencies’ mining, such as bitcoin, and exchanging currencies using this digital money and submit the bill to the Parliament so that the power rate of those who are mining across the country would be determined.”