Iran approves crypto mining, crypto still not legal tender

The government of Iran just gave crypto miners the green light to begin operations in the country that has been surprisingly receptive of the new industry. While crypto coins are not yet allowed as legal tender, regulators are at least not cracking down on it as those in other nations have done.

As local news outlet Mehr News Agency reports, the Iranian authorities are now allowing crypto mining in the country, provided the miners actually get the appropriate license for it. To that end, prospective parties are encouraged to approach the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade and apply for the right authorization.

On that note, it was stressed that even if mining and trading crypto coins are allowed in Iran, the government offers no guarantees or protections on this front. Neither will the country’s banks since regulations are not yet in place in dealing with this specific issue. As such, all of the risks that come with the crypto industry will be on the shoulders of the traders alone.

Even so, the government is not at all shying away from taking advantage of the rising trend. It will actually tax mined cryptocurrencies, with the exception of those who will export the cryptos and bring back the revenues to Iran, CoinDesk reports.

It was also reiterated that traders cannot use crypto coins to purchase anything in the country. As such, if there is a need to buy goods with the money gained from crypto trading, it will still need to be converted into the local currency.

On the matter of cryptocurrency’s benefits for Iran, though, many experts have pointed out that the industry can actually be a way to get around the sanctions that the US and others have imposed. As such, Iran would have a good reason to officially back cryptocurrency.