Iran faces a long road before using blockchain to evade US sanctions

Excerpt

The Islamic Republic of Iran has a long way to go before it’s ready to launch a national cryptocurrency. Tehran’s central bank has that ambition, but the effort remains at the experimental stage. Some recent media reports claim that Iran has “launched” a state cryptocurrency based on gold called the Peyman. What really is happening, however, is less dramatic. It has few immediate implications for Iranian sanctions evasion, but does signal Iran’s strategic intent to use blockchain technology to develop long-term sanctions resistance.

Yaya J. Fanusie is a senior fellow with the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @SignCurve.