The US Congress is introducing draft legislation that could steamroll any plans that Iran has to effectively beat sanctions through adopting a national cryptocurrency. Iranian officials have declared that a sanction-breaker cryptocurrency is being implemented shortly.
The new legislation now passing through Congress to become law would ban US citizens from any transactions in which Iranian cryptocurrency is used.
Draft legislation has been introduced by the US Congress in order to prevent damaging the nation’s sanctions imposed on Iran. If made law, the proposed ‘Blocking Iran Illicit Finance Act’ would impose sanctions on any foreign nationals who are seen to support the development of an Iranian national cryptocurrency.
This after Iran declared last month its national cryptocurrency was ready to be deployed, as the US sanctions go into full effect. The goal of the national cryptocurrency is to conduct international business since Iran’s international payment systems have been crippled. The international payments network SWIFT has also severed ties with Iranian banks. Additionally, due to the sanctions, Bittrex and Binance have stopped serving Iranian customers. Essentially, it is illegal for any company that does business in the United States to also do business in Iran.
The bill proposal states that “all transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in Iranian digital currency by a United States person or within the United States are prohibited”.
President Trump has also stated that bank accounts overseas could also be blocked along with any property transactions in the US involving Iran, plus foreigners could be banned from entering the US if associated with an Iranian cryptocurrency transaction.
If issued, Iran will control the supply of the cryptocurrency through the country’s central bank backed by the rial, Iran’s national currency. Coins won’t be mined and transaction records will be limited to an inaccessible private blockchain.
Elsewhere in the country are voices that appear to endorse the use of blockchain. Last week, the head of management development department of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, Alireza Daliri, commented that blockchain could improve the Iranian economy.
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