High-ranking Iranian official Alireza Peyman-Pak announced that the country has used bitcoin or crypto for the first time in international trade.
According to Peyman-Pak, Iran imported $10 million worth of goods and paid for it using cryptocurrency. Whether bitcoin or altcoins were used is unclear at this point and the details of the trade are unknown.
Iran was sanctioned in 1979 by the United States due to its nuclear research program and being linked to several terrorist groups. Since then, the country has been banned from international, dollar-based trades.
It appears as if Iran is attempting to bypass U.S. sanctions by conducting international trade using a neutral, digital asset that isn’t issued or controlled by a particular government.
However, just yesterday crypto mixer Tornado Cash was sanctioned. All its wallet addresses were added to the “Specially Designated Nationals list” by the Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which operates under the purview of the U.S. Treasury.
The Iranian official mentioned in a Tweet:
“This week, the first official import order was successfully placed with #رمز_ارز worth 10 million dollars. By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with target countries.”
Some macro analysts, such as Lyn Alden and Mark Moss believe that we are moving towards a more heterogeneous financial system where U.S. dollar hegemony fades in favor of a more decentralized, multi-currency system.
Instead of the Petrodollar, countries might purchase and sell oil for euros, ruble, gold or bitcoin. The recent $10 million international trade conducted by Iran using non-fiat currency could be seen as an early sign of this trend.
Earlier this year, Russian president Vladimir Putin mentioned that he was open to accepting payments for oil in currencies issued by “friendly countries”, or in rubles or even bitcoin.
Once more details about the Iranian trade surface we will report them.
