Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohammadreza Farzin has announced the country’s plan for launching a digital currency, named CryptoRial, in the near future.
Speaking at a conference in Tehran on Monday, Farzin hailed the scheme as a milestone in Iran’s banking system which could effectively facilitate both small and big payments.
The use of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are at the pilot stage and undergoing preliminary studies in countries like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey and India, the CBI governor said, adding that Iran is also executing the pilot launch of CryptoRial in southern Kish Island.
Noting that three state-owned banks are currently using the digital currency, he expressed hope that five other banks will also join the scheme.
Announcing the pilot launch of CryptoRial in late June, Mehran Moharramian, the deputy CBI director for technologies, said that Iran was the thirteenth country in the world to launch a CBDC, which had taken place despite the tough Western sanctions on Tehran.