Iran Placed Its First Import Order With Crypto Worth $10 Million

This week, Iran placed its first official import order using crypto, allowing it to bypass U.S. sanctions crippling its economy.

Import Order Worth $10 Million

According to the latest news agency, Iran placed its first import order to be paid with crypto worth $10 million. The government amended Iran's digital assets law two years ago to allow locally mined crypto for making payments of imported orders. Alireza Peyman-Pak, an official at the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, stated (in Farsi) that by the end of September, Iranians would be using cryptocurrencies and smart contracts in foreign trade with target countries. The agency did not clarify the cryptocurrency used in the transaction. Iran is subject to a complete economic boycott imposed by the United States, prohibiting imports from its banking, shipping, and oil sectors. In 2019, the government legalized crypto mining in Iran, making crypto mining legal both outside and inside metropolises. The electricity price offered to the miners was either equal to the average Iranian rial cost at which Iran exported its electricity to various nations or equal to 70% of the average rial price the country used to ship off its natural gas. The sector is still strictly regulated, and last year the government cracked down on local miners over their energy consumption.