A state-backed virtual currency may
be launched in Iran, according to the Ministry of Technology. It has revealed
that one of the country’s banks is working on the project.
“In a
meeting with the board of directors of Post Bank on digital currencies based on
the blockchain, I ... prescribed ... measures to implement the country's first
cloud-based digital currency,” Minister of Information and Communications
Technology Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted.
Media reported the Central Bank of
Iran was cooperating with other institutions to control digital currencies in
Iran. A national digital currency could help Tehran evade potential sanctions
from Washington as US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering their
reinstatement.
In 2015, a nuclear agreement was
reached between Iran and the US, UK, China, France, Germany and Russia, which
saw economic sanctions lifted in exchange for limitations of Iran's nuclear
program. After Trump was elected president he described the nuclear agreement
signed by his predecessor Barack Obama as “the worst deal ever
negotiated.”
Iran is still mostly cut off from
major international payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard, and services
such as PayPal.
Tehran’s announcement on its crypto
project follows Venezuela's launch of the world’s first national digital
currency the 'petro'. The oil-backed cryptocurrency has raised the equivalent
of more than $735 million, according to President Nicolas Maduro.
After the successful pre-sale of
the petro last week, Maduro announced a new virtual token, dubbed ‘petro oro’,
which will be backed by precious metals. The launch of the petro oro is
scheduled for this week.
Source: RT