The Iranian government has amended its regulations on cryptocuurencies to allow them be exclusively used for funding imports at a time of increased pressure on the country’s normal use of hard currencies.
The Cabinet amended a previously issued legislation on the use of cryptocurrencies in Iran by redirecting digital monies into the Central Bank of Iran’s funding mechanisms for imports, according to a report by the official IRNA news agency.
The report said new regulations have been enacted in response to a joint proposal by the CBI and the Iranian Ministry of Energy.
Based on the laws, the cryprocurrencies legally mined in Iran will only be exchangeable when they are used to finance imports from other countries.
“The miners are supposed to supply the original cryptocurrency directly and within the authorized limit to the channels introduced by the CBI,” said report.
It said the legal cap for the amount of cryptocuurency for each miner would be determined by the level of the subsidized energy used for mining and based on instructions published by the Ministry of the Energy.
Iran announced general rules on cryptocurrencies last year when illegal mining through the use of heavily-subsidized electricity led to a nationwide crackdown on miners.
Trading digital currencies like bitcoin became legal after the regulations were announced in August 2019 although the government has been keeping a cautious eye on the size of the trade and its potential impacts on the financial situation in Iran.
Using cryptocurrencies to fund imports could help the CBI evade restrictions imposed by the United States on Iran’s use of the dollar system.
That comes as central banks in countries like China and Russia plan to introduce official cryptocurrencies to boost trade and economic exchanges with the rest of the world.