At the Economic Coordination Board meeting, Iran President Hassan Rouhani has suggested that the government must legalize cryptocurrencies as soon as possible.
Iran, even though it doesn’t have any framework to regulate cryptocurrency transactions, isn’t new to crypto ventures. In fact, the country became a hub for Chinese bitcoin miners because of the country’s cheap energy.
But the government has to step in when bitcoin mining operations in the country have dramatically increased and have negatively affected Iran’s power grid, forcing it to temporarily suspend mining activities.
“The Ministries of Communication and Information Technology and Energy are responsible for cutting off powers to these centers.” President Rouhani said.
Unclear stance
Even with the President’s clear desire to make a big move in cryptocurrencies, the government’s stance toward crypto is still unclear to everybody.
On top of that, Iranian elections will arrive next week, giving government officials a lot of things to do, and are unlikely to prioritize bitcoin at the moment.
But of course, bitcoin remains an important part of the government’s overall strategy, given that the country is still suffering from sanctions. But current pressing events will temporarily put the crypto coin at a “warm or neutral” side of the government’s priorities.
Making it clear
Even with the country’s lack of crypto regulatory framework and vague plans on cryptocurrencies, the President made it clear that bitcoin is included in the government’s priorities.
Also, he highlighted the need for capital markets to cooperate with various areas such as media, cyberspace, and education to further educate the public about bitcoin.
President Rouhani still hopes that his “as soon as possible” request towards the popular cryptocurrency will still be possible.
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