Iranian authorities conducted the first $10 million import operation with payment in cryptocurrency. Local publication Tasnim writes that the deal took place this week.

Alireza Peymanpak, head of the Iran Trade Development Organization, said that local companies will begin to widely use digital assets and smart contracts in international trade in September.

In 2020, the government of the Middle Eastern country approved a mechanism to pay for imports using bitcoins received by the central bank mined by local miners.

In 2021, Elliptic analysts concluded that Iran accounts for 4.5% of all digital gold mining. Cryptocurrency allows the country to bypass sanctions and buy imported goods.

In the same year, President Hassan Rouhani announced that he was temporarily banning cryptocurrency mining due to electricity shortages. Licensed businesses were allowed to resume business in the fall.

At the end of the year, the state, which held Tavirir, took similar measures due to the increase in winter consumption.

In April 2022, authorities increased the penalties for illegally mining cryptocurrencies using subsidized electricity and imposed prison sentences for repeat offenders.

Recall, according to a Reuters investigation, the Binance crypto exchange served Iranian users to circumvent US sanctions.

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