Iranian officials want to ban Bitcoin payments

The Iranian parliament has prepared a bill seeking to ban the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for payments.

According to a Friday report by Tasnim News Agency, the new bill drafted by Iranian lawmakers will prohibit the use of all non-national cryptocurrencies for payments within the country. On the flip side of the government’s move to clamp down on cryptocurrencies, the country is mulling over issuing its own digital asset. This is arguably the primary motive behind the new bill.

Iran is not the first country to issue a blanket ban on crypto transactions. Back in April, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey issued a banon the use of Bitcoin and other cryptos for transactions.

Miners must obtain licenses

In addition to restricting the use of cryptos for transactions, the Iranian bill also stipulated that miners in the region will have to secure licenses from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade before setting up mining farms. The ministry already granted permissions to 30 mining facilities last week.

Recall that in May, the country imposed a four-month ban on crypto mining after blaming it for rampant power outages. The country also reportedly enlisted the help of spies to track down illegal mining farms.