Iran commander touts crypto as solution to bypass sanctions

Saeed Muhammad, commander of Khatam-al Anbiya Construction – a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces – has suggested Iran use cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions.

According to a report from the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), Saeed Muhammad began a speech by stating that “today we are in the economic war”.

He went on to say that Iran was “demanding a more sophisticated mechanism to circumvent sanctions” that have been imposed on the nation by the United States.

“We are calling for the activation of the use of cryptocurrencies, and we want bilateral or multilateral monetary agreements,” he added.

Coin Rivet has reported extensively on Iran’s imaginative solutions to bypass sanctions through the use of cryptocurrencies, with a report from last February revealing how Iranian banks floated the idea of launching their own cryptocurrency.

Iran having control of a native cryptocurrency would allow it to bypass certain measures imposed by the US, including a ban on buying US Dollars.

The move has been received well by numerous technology experts in the country, namely cryptocurrency expert Ziya Sadr.

Sadr told the New York Times: “Bitcoin cannot be sanctioned by anyone. Not by the US government or any other government or other financial entities.”

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