Iranian banks freeze more than 9,000 accounts of cryptocurrency traders

Iranian authorities block bank accounts for illegal transactions for the sale of foreign currencies and cryptocurrencies, as well as close mining farms.

In early May, the Central Bank of Iran announced a ban on the trading and promotion of cryptocurrencies mined outside the country. To combat illegal trading in crypto assets, the Central Bank has joined forces with the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security of Iran. Earlier, the Information Agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRNA) issued a warning to banks and credit institutions not to participate in transactions related to digital assets.

In the course of tightened checks for the presence of suspicious transactions with foreign currencies and cryptocurrencies, in Iran there were frozen 9,219 bank accounts belonging to 545 people, totaling about $ 2 billion. At the same time, the authorities closed about 7,000 mining farms that operated without a license. Iranian energy company Tavanir said these farms had a combined capacity of 645 MW, leading to power shortages in the country.

In April, the Iranian government announced its intention to pass a law toughening the punishment for illegal mining of cryptocurrencies, up to large fines and imprisonment.

The tough measures of the authorities against the crypto industry are due to the fact that the state currency has reached a record low level of demand. The situation is aggravated by economic sanctions from the United States, so the Iranian authorities are trying to contain the outflow of funds into crypto assets.

Recently, Iranian Deputy Communications Minister Reza Bagheri Asl stated that the government will never recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tender. At the same time, the Central Bank of Iran does not exclude the possibility of launching a digital rial, which will operate on the basis of distributed ledger technology.