The Iranian government wants to use cryptocurrencies to pay for trade — including with India and the other BRICS nations — and bypass the various sanctions that have been levied on it by the United States of America and the United Nations, according to various Iranian government officials and businessmen.In August 2025, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany initiated a ‘snapback mechanism’ through which international sanctions were levied once again on Iran following a brief pause, as a response to Iran’s alleged increased uranium enrichment activities and curbs on access by International Atomic Energy Agency officials. The U.S. has been levying varying levels of sanctions on Iran since about 1979. One major impact of the sanctions is that Iran is cut off from the U.S.’ international SWIFT payment system.Adapting cryptos to bypass sanctions“Cryptocurrencies provide new ways to do business and to pay for trade,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament said while speaking at the deBlock Summit, Iran’s first international blockchain conference, which is also backed by the Iranian government. “So, they can support independent nations. We want Iran to become a regional, and even global hub in blockchain technology and digital trade.”“We want to do trade with other countries where we pay in digital currencies,” Mr. Ghalibaf asserted. “It is a necessity for us.”The Speaker said that incorporating cryptocurrencies requires the appropriate technology, which the Iranian government is working on. “The Iranian Parliament hereby declares its readiness to work with academics, researchers, and businesses in this area,” Mr. Ghalibaf said. “We want to attract as much investment as possible in digital currencies.”A push for de-dollarisationPooria Asteraky, chairman of the deBlock Summit, said that cryptocurrencies, being a decentralised form of money, are a technological tool to achieve de-dollarisation, or a move away from the U.S. dollar as the primary international currency.“Cryptocurrencies are a decentralised form of money, not to be run by any particular government or political block,” Mr. Asteraky said. “It is the first technological tool for de-dollarisation. BRICS is meant to get rid of centralisation by reducing the role of the dollar, and reduce the amount of dollars held in countries’ assets.”U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned the BRICS countries to desist from forming a ‘BRICS currency’ and move away from the dollar, saying he would impose punitive tariffs on these countries if they do so.India’s Ministry of External Affairs has made its stance on the matter clear. “De-dollarisation is not part of India’s financial agenda,” the Ministry’s spokesperson said in August 2025.Need for better regulationsHowever, despite Mr. Ghalibaf’s assertions, the private sector participants in the Summit said that Iranian regulations on cryptocurrencies and blockchain left a lot to be desired.“There is not a proper transparent regulatory environment for blockchain or cryptocurrencies to prosper in Iran,” Ehsan Mehdizadeh, CEO and founder of Wallex Iran, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges said during a panel discussion. “You can’t say you are a country under sanctions and yet you don’t want to use new financial systems. The regulator has not arrived at a good understanding of blockchain technology.”“The SWIFT payment system has been cut off for us, so perhaps cryptocurrencies and blockchain can help,” Mr. Mehdizadeh said. “Digital and crypto currencies are one way to get around sanctions.”State of Iranian regulationsCurrently, the Central Bank of Iran is the sole regulator for the crypto market in the country. It has introduced several restrictions, including blocking gateways that allow the Iranian Rial to be converted into cryptocurrencies. Crypto mining — the energy-intensive act of creating cryptocurrencies — has been allowed, but policymakers are raising questions on how to regulate those activities as well. “The council set up to prevent money laundering had banned cryptocurrencies, but the head of the Iranian Parliament questioned this,” Shamseddin Hosseini, chairman of the Economic Committee of the Iranian Parliament noted. “These currencies do have risks. One question to be asked is how much should you pay for crypto mining. Should these activities be entitled to the same rates of electricity that are charged to normal residents?”Ali Hakim Javadi, the chairman of the Iranian Information Technology Organization, the industry body representing the country’s IT companies, said that trust is the bedrock for encouraging investments. “To encourage more investments, there is a need to build trust,” Mr. Javadi said. “A major driver of this is transparency, which you can get through blockchain technology. If you are speaking about contracts on paper, kept in safes, then there used to be problems with these on a legal and technical basis. With blockchain, we are working on smart contracts which are transparent and dynamic.”(The reporter was in Tehran at the invitation of the deBlock Summit organisers)Published - November 16, 2025 04:56 am IST