[amiraliakbari]

This article seems to be just speculations without any reliable source. Using cryptocurrencies for any meaningful amount of money is impractical for sanctioned countries because of difficulties in exchange with fiat currencies. Currently the Iran government forces very restrictive policies on cryptocurrency use by people. Even if there is a CBDC project under development, a small project done as an experiment does not show what a country is trying to do.

(I am CTO of a local cryptocurrency exchange market in Iran)

[rdl]

I can think of ways for them to essentially use crypto as a negotiable bond (high rates due to uncertainty about politics and stability, although Iran itself is a good long-term growth bet in ways other than politics). Issue the CBDC in a way which essentially promises appreciation, do cross-chain atomic swaps for other currencies for overseas purchasing.

Might not be more efficient than, say, shipping tankers full of oil to countries who don't do the sanctions, or other goods, but it's an option. I think if there were essentially a way to anonymously buy 30% interest rate Iranian bonds at a retail level for crypto, you'd see people do it. They could also go after the stablecoin market by earmarking oil/other commodities/physical USD/etc. as backing.

[runeks]

Iran can easily issue BTC- or ETH-denominated bonds.

Why would a free market buy bonds denominated in some newly created currency? Smells like the issuer just wants to be able to devalue this currency in order to pay the interest.

In the end, the reason reasonable investors won't buy 30% BTC-denominated Iranian govt. bonds is that Iran will have to exchange the ETH/BTC earned from selling the bond (because whoever Iran wants to pay don't accept ETH/BTC), which exposes the investment to a huge exchange rate risk.

[stunt]

> (I am CTO of a local cryptocurrency exchange market in Iran)

Is it still possible to trade there? I remember reading that some exchanges like Bittrex are going to block Iranian accounts because of new sanctions.

[amiraliakbari]

Almost all of major exchanges block Iranian users. There are risks, but you can use fake identities, VPNs and such techniques to bypass restrictions. The main problem is converting among cryptocurrencies and USD, but there are channels and people that supply stable coins using links with neighbor countries. In fact, USDT price in Iran is just about 5% higher than USD. Having USDT or by mining, you can easily trade all cryptocurrencies, especially in crypto-to-crypto exchanges.

Also local exchanges like out startup operate in Iran to match domestic supply and demand without the need of external entities. But anyways, this is all about not-so-large sums of money and not government level transactions.

[gcb0]

this sounds like a textbook false flag "think of the children" action on public opinion.

enemy, or Grey zone neutral power, announce they will use something a state always wanted a reason to jump in but didn't really had a legal reason.

with this news, real or otherwise, every intelligence agencies will be allowed to monitor cryptocurrencies. and then "cooperate" with the irs or do whatever is their real intent.