Iran’s government is now trying to block access to cryptocurrency exchanges thereby cutting off its citizens from the crypto economy. As per the reports, the country’s authorities started filtering cryptocurrency exchanges starting in May. Already government censorship in Iran has been curbing global press due to which it has now become the biggest prison state in the world for journalists.
Upcoming renewal of US sanctions triggered censorship
According to an Iranian Bitcoin (BTC) advocate, Iran has been filtering every crypto exchange since May due to which many crypto users are experiencing difficulties in accessing the exchanges even with their VPN’s (virtual private networks). The censorship from the Iranian authorities is strict, in that even the other popular tools, which help users get over the internet censorship, are not working. Trade analysts believe that the upcoming renewal of US sanctions in the coming months (August and November) may be the reason for this censorship.
It certainly is bad news for Iranians, as well as bad timing for the country as a whole. Iran is going through a highly unstable economic phase and the citizens of the country are now relying heavily on Bitcoin as well as other virtual currencies for empowerment and financial stability. Last week’s report reveals that the national currency of Iran, the Rial, is most likely to lose around 60% of its worth by the end of 2018 owing to hyperinflation. According to reports, many Iranians are using Bitcoin as a hedge instrument because it is much easier to buy BTC than buying US dollars on the black market.
Iranian President sees cryptocurrency as a threat
It is a common thing for citizens of countries like Zimbabwe and Venezuela whose currencies are not stable and have unreliable value to invest in virtual currencies like Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin, though these have unreliable value as well. However, it seems that the President of Iran has a different approach towards the digital currency. According to the director of the IranObserved Project, Ahmad Khalid Majidyar, the Iranian president probably sees cryptocurrency as a threat to the economy of his country, or rather his control of the economy, and does not want Iranians to use these exchanges for transferring foreign currency, more importantly, dollars outside Iran.
