Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is under the spotlight as a report claims it continued serving Iranian clients despite a company ban and economic sanctions against the country. According to an investigative report from Reuters, individuals inside the country continued to trade on Binance after the company itself had shifted Iran onto a blacklist of jurisdictions in which it would not operate. The use of the exchange by Iranians also brings into question capital controls instituted against the country after U.S. economic sanctions were ramped-up in 2018. Binance, itself, operates out of the Cayman Islands and is not subject to sanctions …

According to local news outlet Arz Digital, the day prior, Rajabi Mashhadi, a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Energy, said that the entity would be cutting the power supply to all of the country's licensed crypto mining firms by the beginning of July. Citing an anticipated electricity deficit from the peak-summer season, Mashhadi stated, "There are currently 118 authorized [digital currency] extraction centers in the country, which must cut off their electricity supply from the national grid from the beginning of July." "Last week, the country's electricity consumption recorded an all-time high of 62,500 megawatts (MW) during peak consumption, which …

The Iranian government will increase the penalties for the use of subsidized energy in crypto mining. The move marks another step in tightening mining regulation in the country, which had faced energy shortages in recent years. Citing the country’s Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission company, the Tehran Times reported that the government plans to drastically increase the rates of fines for mining operators who use subsidized electricity on Saturday. The company's representative Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli specified: “Any use of subsidized electricity, intended for households, industrial, agricultural and commercial subscribers, for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited.” According to Bohlouli, the fines for …

Centralized exchanges, or CEX, CEOs from companies such as Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have all stated they will only freeze the assets of Russian clients specifically targeted by Western sanctions — not that of everyday Russian users. A few days prior, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Minister of Digital Transformation, had called for "all major crypto exchanges to block [wallet] addresses of Russians" and "also to sabotage ordinary users [by freezing their assets]." In explaining why he was not preemptively banning all Russians (though, Coinbase is not available in Russia), Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, specifically wrote: "We believe everyone deserves access …

U.S.-based NFT marketplace OpenSea has reportedly begun barring Iranian users from its platform, sparking outrage from NFT collectors and raising fresh debate about decentralization in the crypto space. On Thursday morning, Iranian OpenSea users started posting on Twitter that their accounts were being deactivated or deleted with no prior warning. Iranian NFT artist “Bornosor” vented frustrations to their 4,700 followers, in a tweet that quickly gained traction, garnering 342 retweets and over a thousand likes within a few hours. Bornosor stated, “NOT A gm AT ALL. Woke up to my @opensea trading account being deactivated/deleted without notice or any explanation.” …

On Wednesday, the European Union announced that within 10 days, it intends to remove seven Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, messaging system. The list of sanctioned banks includes Russia's second-largest bank VTB, Bank Otrkitie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank, and VEB. Without access to SWIFT, a Belgian messaging system that connects over 11,000 financial institutions worldwide, Russian banks, and by proxy, the Russian economy, is likely to endure severe losses. For example, Iran lost 30% of its foreign trade after being banned from SWIFT in 2012. VTB stock price | Source: Yahoo Finance …

As payment methods continue to evolve, new innovations are improving financial infrastructures that have been in use for years. Currently, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are a topic that has grabbed the attention of many nations worldwide including the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Middle Eastern nation has faced considerable economic and financial hardships due to sanctions imposed on it by the United States and believes that piloting a CBDC can resolve problems associated with the blockade. Furthermore, some view a CBDC as a potential solution to the country’s perceived corruption problem. Corruption allegations have trailed Iran for decades. The …

Two currency crises two thousand years apart. Modern-day Venezuela and the Roman Empire have more in common than you might think. Both know too well the dangers of soaring inflation and a collapse in investor confidence. But, only one has crypto on its side. Venezuela’s official currency, the bolívar, has suffered from hyperinflation for half a decade due to repeated currency devaluations, minimum wage rises and significant public spending increases. For a sustained period of several centuries, the Roman Empire enjoyed the enormous trade and commercial benefits associated with the world’s first fiat currency, as explored in my book Pugnare: …

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is reportedly planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot soon. According to a report by the Iranian Labour News Agency, the CBI vice governor said that CBDCs could help the country resolv financial inconsistencies. The development of a sovereign digital currency in Iran began in 2018 at the Informatics Services Corporation — the executive arm of the CBI. The development phase has been completed and a pilot will be launched soon. However, CBI didn’t reveal many details about the time frame. The Iranian CBDC was reportedly developed using the Hyperledger Fabric …

The Central Bank of Iran, or CBI, and the ministry of trade have reached an agreement to link the CBI’s payment platform to a trade system allowing businesses to settle payments using cryptocurrencies, the Mehr News Agency reported Monday. Alireza Peyman-Pak, Iran’s deputy minister of Industry, Mine and Trade and head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, or TPO, said that the new payment mechanism is expected to be finalized “within the next two weeks.” “We are finalizing a mechanism for operations of the system. This should provide new opportunities for importers and exporters to use cryptocurrencies in their international deals,” …

Amid Iran’s energy consumption increasing during the winter, local energy authorities have decided to halt operations of authorized cryptocurrency mining centers. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, chairman of the board and managing director of Iran Grid Management Company (Tavanir), announced that Iran is shutting down crypto mining centers again to reduce liquid fuel consumption in power plants amid decreasing temperatures. Mashhadi said that Iranian authorities took this action to reduce energy consumption last month, The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported on Dec. 25. “The Energy Ministry has been implementing measures since last month to reduce the use of liquid fuels …

According to Iran's main blockchain organization, authorities have been remiss in their enforcement of cryptocurrency laws. The association is concerned about the government's inactivity, offering its help to regulators that it feels are inadequately prepared to handle such a challenging task. The head of the Iran Blockchain Association (IBA), Abbas Ashtiani, said that Iranian regulators such as the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) are unable to regulate digital assets. The IBA has requested for the establishment of an "independent counsel" to assume responsibility, according to a report by Financial Tribune. While speaking at a press conference held on Nov. 2, …