Iran’s central bank has placed a ban on using Bitcoin and other virtual currencies by the country’s banks. All financial businesses and credit institutions in Iran have been barred from using cryptocurrencies. The measure was adopted in late 2017, but the order was made public recently.
The Iranian government’s decision was based on concerns over illicit use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering and terrorist financing schemes. Earlier, the country’s law enforcement agencies involved in combating cybercrime said that Bitcoin was used to sell drugs, weapons and even in the slave trade.
Meanwhile, Iran’s authorities revealed in late February that they are developing a cryptocurrency in a move to reduce the negative impact of US sanctions.
According to Iran's Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, virtual currencies are widely used in the international market. The official believes Iran should keep pace with the times and be level with other nations. Javad Azari Jahromi suggested that the country's cloud-based digital currency should be implemented under supervision of Post Bank of Iran with all technical specialists of the country involved.
Being weighed down by the news, the No. 1 digital currency fell by 0.22% to $8,903.79 in a day. Bitcoin’s market cap was $151.32 billion.
According to analysts, the crypto market has been balanced. Five leading cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, IOTA and NEO showed strong growth. Prices of Bitcoin, Ripple, EOS, Cardano and Stellar significantly declined. Ripple dropped the most, while Bitcoin Cash showed the strongest growth. According to Coinmarketcap, the total market capitalization of digital assets came in at $398.73 billion.
