US To Sanction Iran Crypto Efforts
In the latest cryptocurrency news, Iran’s digital currency is once again in the limelight. This was after a bill being pushed by the U.S. Congress took a hard line. It was reportedly meant to subdue the country’s efforts in developing its own crypto.
Evading Economic Sanctions
U.S. regulators have been vocal about their intention against Iran’s government, which has been their narrative in the past few months. Basically, the former believes that the latter is looking to utilize a sovereign cryptocurrency, which is akin to Venezuela’s the Petro, in hopes of evading economic sanctions.
Portions of the bill called the Blocking Iran Illicit Finance Act suggest a call on Iran’s motives of creating a sovereign digital currency. It is worth noting that the person behind the bill is none other than Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.). Another bill of the same nature was then submitted by Texas representative Sen. Ted Cruz to the Senate.
The proposals are all calling for immediate sanctions against any entity who knowingly support Iran with funding. These also include the action to provide services and/or any form of “technological support,” or any means to help the country in connection with its plans to develop the Iranian digital asset.
‘Ratcheting Up Pressure’
Apparently, this effort to battle Iran is not a first of its kind. In fact, it came in context of the administration of President Donald Trump and his decisions sometime in May this year. It was basically to withdraw any form of support from the Iran nuclear deal or the titular Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
According to Gallagher, withdrawing from the aforementioned was simply the first step. It was meant to put significant pressure – and ratcheting it all up – on the Iranian regime. He further added that by doing so, they are able to obtain a window to deploy maximum economic pressure, which would eventually degrade the country’s ability to cultivate violence across the region.
Gallagher even said that this would later on bear fruit on an international scale. For instance, the legislation is expected to do the above-mentioned possibilities by dramatically cutting Iran’s efforts to become part of the international financial community.
Interestingly, the country has been in many headlines, particularly when talking about topics related to cryptocurrency or digital assets.
For example, earlier this week, a government official of the country opened up about the benefits of embracing blockchain and what merits it could bring. Cheap electricity, particularly in the Islamic Republic, has helped the country become a go-to destination for Bitcoin mining farms.
Meanwhile, the recently published U.S. sanctions have just caught a number of Bitcoin traders from Iran, though one of them claims to be innocent.