Iran to pilot ‘national cryptocurrency’, amend central bank law

Recently appointed Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Ali Salehabadi has announced that Iran’s “national cryptocurrency” is about to enter a pilot phase. The senior official told reporters after his first meeting with lawmakers that the regulator is studying the potential risks and benefits associated with the plan.
“The pilot trial will begin once the Monetary and Credit Committee approves it,” he explained.
This new phase of the project will likely coincide with earlier plans for the development of a national cryptocurrency.
Three years ago, CBI subsidiary Informatics Services Corporation, which operates the country’s banking automation and payment services network, was tasked with developing a sovereign digital currency.
The digital version of the Islamic Republic’s national legal currency, the rial, was developed on a private blockchain. Unlike cryptocurrencies based on public blockchains, such as Bitcoin, the Iranian state-issued tokens will not be mined.
Until recently, the public was kept in the dark about the progress of this preliminary project when it was revealed that a “crypto rial” plan was underway. Officials stressed that the Iranian cryptocurrency would be a digital currency circulated by the CBI, rather than a decentralized cryptocurrency that could be used for small cashless transactions.
In addition to the digital currency announcement, the central bank’s new management and members of parliament agreed to form a joint committee tasked with reforming legislation regarding the CBI. Its members are expected to quickly finalize a long-awaited plan to update the law governing the central bank’s activities.
Governor Salehabadi also said that a special task force will be set up to clarify the bank's and government's stance on cryptocurrencies. While Tehran's executive authorities have been cracking down on crypto investments and trading, allowing only banks and licensed money changers to pay for imported goods using Iranian-minted currency, lawmakers oppose these restrictive policies. They believe that friendlier regulation will help Iran circumvent U.S.-led sanctions and boost its economic development. (Bitpush)