Iran is moving to “curate” cryptocurrency through regulations rather than restrictions, a strategic shift that coincides with the president-elect’s arrival. Donald Trumpthe pro-crypto position of and BitcoinIt is BTC/USD recent rise above $100,000.
What happened: Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Abdolnaser Hemmati announced the regulatory framework at a national event, saying the initiative aims to “eliminate negative impacts while leveraging positive effects” of digital currencies, according to state-run Nour News.
The Central Bank of Iran has issued guidelines focused on tax compliance and anti-money laundering measures.
Iranian investors currently hold between $30 billion and $50 billion in cryptocurrency assets, equivalent to about a third of the country’s gold market, economist says Mohammad Sadegh Alhosseini » said Nour News.
“We hope that they will be developed with the aim of developing youth assets and employment, thereby helping to undo sanctions and align Iran’s activities with the global economy,” Hemmati said.
See also: Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin reverse after advances: BTC records historic weekly close while analyst sets $6,000 target for ETH
Why it matters: The timing is important as Trump prepares to take office, having recently appointed David Sacks as “White House AI and crypto czar.” Through Truth Social, Trump announced that Sacks would develop a comprehensive legal framework to help the crypto industry “thrive in the United States.”
However, Trump’s anticipated return to “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran could have a significant impact on global oil markets.
JPMorgan analyst Arun Jayaram warns that renewed sanctions could remove up to 1 million barrels of Iranian oil per day from global supply, a dramatic reduction from current exports of 1.6 million barrels under president Joe Bidenadministration.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $99,547, reflecting growing institutional acceptance amid these geopolitical shifts.
Read next:
Image via Shutterstock
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced using AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
News and market data powered by Benzinga APIs
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.