THEIran and cryptocurrency they do not have a particularly serene relationship and, to confirm this, the news has recently arrived that the country is prohibiting access to the app in its attempts to repress the use of digital goods, which the regulatory authorities claim to be prolific of uses for criminal activities.
Telegram or Gram
Based on this, Criminal Content Definition Task Force secretary Javad Javidnia said that anyone surprised to use Telegram or to use the Gram - the cryptocurrency of the app - will be subject to national security laws and, therefore, will receive the appropriate sanctions.
"One of the most important factors in banning Telegram was determined by the sense of serious economic threat of its activities, which unfortunately was marginalized and neglected due to the confusion in the political atmosphere of the country" - specified the secretary.
Clearly, Iran is not the only region that looks at Telegram with suspicion, so much so that it regards it as a national threat. In Russia, Telegram was also banned when, in the 2018, the chat application launched its initial money offer (ICO). Russian officials explained that they are concerned about the fundraising plan due to potential fraud and investor safety deficits.
Iran and Blockchain
Iran now considers that the entry of Telegram into the blockchain and in the crypto-value ecosystem it can "undermine the national currency". The country is already subject to severe sanctions induced by US president Donald Trump, and has as a consequence suffered more inflation and serious economic damage.
To be honest, however, Iran has always maintained a particularly negative attitude towards cryptocurrency, coming to limit access to exchanges in the 2018.
At the same time, however, the country has been discussing it for yearsidea to build your own cryptocurrency as a way to avoid sanctions in the future, even if it seems that officials do not want "competition" to get in the way of such projects.
The Central Bank of the country is working with others institutions to control the flow of digital currencies in Iran, as Bitcoin, Ethereum e Litecoin, in order to discourage their use and convince residents to use a potential national virtual currency as the only payment option.
