The rial, Iran’s fiat currency, has experienced severe depreciation recently, hitting a record low against the dollar in 2020.
Interestingly, the move makes it seems as if the CBI is treating bitcoin mining and trading as regular commodity activities.
Most recently, Iran has attempted to control the bitcoin mining industry, requiring that mining operations be officially sanctioned and then allowing these miners to use the resulting bitcoin to pay for imports.
But such protectionism, like this reported ban, doesn’t seem very enforceable for Bitcoin users.