Page 27 - IRANRptAug18

my coins for months.
"I've lost thousands because of their over-compliance regarding US rules and regulations even before Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear pact; it's just infuriating, again we're being hit from every side."
According to Sepehr Mohammadi, head of the Iranian Blockchain Community (IBC), over 500 bitcoins owned by Iranian citizens have been seized by the US federal government. Reports from the US outline claims that the bitcoins were seized due to sanctions violations.
Mohammadi said IBC is negotiating with several lawyers with expertise in anti-money laundering laws to follow up on the seizing of crypto holdings, but to date none had taken on the assignment due to complexities in the use of cryptocurrencies in Iran. He added that Iran’s cyberpolice had not taken any action since trading in foreign-based cryptocurrencies is currently forbidden.
In April, following a rush in Iranian interest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) banned further trading, amid fears people were siphoning millions of euros out of the country via side-door crypto routes.
Iranian central bank governor Valiollah Seif said at the time that the CBI “would not guarantee investment in bitcoin” following several reports that Iranians were trading, partly given the run on the IRR.
Following the official ban, other Iranian officials openly discussed possibilities of using cryptocurrencies to replace traditional international banking systems like SWIFT and bypass sanctions.
The government and oil ministry looked at taking a page out of Venezuela’s book. It earlier this year launched a cryptocurrency backed by oil and petrochemicals to sidestep sanctions.
However, observers suggest that even if Iran manages to create a new cryptocurrency backed by its oil, and perhaps petrochemicals also, the US will press hard globally to force trading parties not to accept it.
7.2 Tertiary forex market
Iran begins tertiary forex market for non-essential imports at IRR80,000 to USD
Iran has formally adopted a tertiary market for foreign currencies, following its failed attempt earlier this year at unifying the rates, which caused a mass panic , according to IBENA.
The new fixed non-essential rate will be at IRR80,000 to the US dollar, according to the news agency, which is roughly the price of the illegal black-market street rate. It was previously reported by some foreign news agencies that the third rate would be set at IRR75,000, but officials have clarified the rate following initial reports.
Iran’s foreign exchange flows have been disrupted since in early April the government responded to the collapse in the value of the Iranian rial (IRR) by banning currency trading on the free market and introducing a single unified rate for the dollar and other hard currencies.
The new market will cater to small exporters and importers from the private
27 IRAN Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com