The Central Bank of Iran says it does not deal or work with cryptocurrencies. It warned the public against engaging in cryptocurrency projects
The Post Bank of Iran is working on a national cryptocurrency that is set to come before the ICT Ministry for review and testing.
The bank has set out the necessary measures to enable testing of the country’s first digital currency. This is according to the Iranian ICT Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi on Twitter on February 20.
The government controls 51 percent of Post Bank shares. However, it is unclear if the cryptocurrency will be available to the public or if it is the bank that will issue it.
However, the Central Bank of Iran issued a controversial statement same day after news from the minister. It said that it does not recognize Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency for transactions. It also said it does not deal with them.
Central Bank said digital currencies are characteristic of competitive business activities. Additionally, they relate to pyramid schemes and network marketing activities. These activities make them highly unreliable and risky to deal in. It warned citizens about dealing and investing in cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, Iranian Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Amir Hossein Davaee said late last year that the country was preparing to adopt Bitcoin as the currency within the country.
U.S. president Donald Trump signed a foreign sanctions bill against Iran among other countries. However, it is unclear if the development of the new cryptocurrency relates to those developers.
For instance, the sanctions’ text calls for in-depth scrutiny of cryptocurrencies and other forms of “illegal finance trends.”
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Originally published at coinpedia.org
