Iran considering its own cryptocurrency
Iran’s Communications and Information Technology (CIT) minister announced that Iran is seeking to create a state-issued cryptocurrency.
The move would see Iran follow in the footsteps of Venezuela, domainb.com reported.
CIT Minister Mohammad-javad Azari Jahromi tweeted that state-run Post Bank is working on developing a cryptocurrency.
“In a meeting with the board of directors of Post Bank on digital currencies based on the block chain, I ... prescribed ... measures to implement the country’s first cloud-based digital currency,” Jahromi said.
Meanwhile, Central Bank of Iran has spelt out a different stance from the previous pro-bitcoin government announcements and is now looking to prevent cryptocurrency.
CBI is now cooperating with other institutions to develop a new mechanism to control and prevent digital currencies in Iran.
‘’We welcome bitcoin, but we must have regulations for bitcoin and any other digital currency... following the rules is a must,’’ Cointelegraph had earlier quoted CBI Secretary Abolhassan Firouzabadi as saying.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said late Tuesday that the country’s oil-backed ‘petro’ cryptocurrency has raised the equivalent of more than $735 million.