Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan meet in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. (photo credit: SPUTNIK/MIKHAIL METZEL/KREMLIN VIA REUTERS) Buddy, Can You Spare a Bitcoin?
Posted on 05/18/2018 9:19:49 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Iran and Russia Discuss Transacting in Crypto to Avoid International Sanctions
Molly Jane Zuckerman
Iran and Russia could start using cryptocurrencies to avoid Western sanctions, Russian news portal RBC reported yesterday, May 17.
Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi, the head of the Iranian Parliamentary Commission for Economic Affairs, referred to cryptocurrencies as a promising way for both countries to avoid US dollar transactions, as well as a possible replacement of the SWIFT interbank payment system.
At a meeting with Dmitry Mezentsev, the Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, Pourebrahimi said that they have “engaged the Central Bank of Iran to start developing proposals for the use of cryptocurrency.”
Pourebrahimi added that he discussed this topic in the State Duma's Committee on Economic Policy the day before and that Iran had established cooperation with Russia on this issue:
“They [Russia] share our opinion. We said that if we manage to move this work forward, then we will be the first countries that use cryptocurrency in the exchange of goods.”
In turn, Mezentsev noted that “interbank relations between our countries should be of great importance” against the backdrop of international sanctions currently in place against both Russia and Iran. The meeting of the interbank working group on financial and interbank cooperation will be held in Tehran on July 5 of this year, RBC reports.
Last week, Pourebrahimi had reported that without access to the international banking system, Iranian citizens have so far succeeded in siphoning a staggering $2.5 bln out of the country in crypto.
(Excerpt) Read more at cointelegraph.com ...
Major corporations are not taking cryptocurrency, and have instead been cancelling major investments and operations in Iran.
French oil major Total cancelled a $2 billion investment in a gas project today. In recent days, German Insurance giant Allianz announced its withdrawal, as did Siemens. Danish Shipping behemoth Maersk announced it would book no further new shipments, which were not already in process by 8 May.
The party is over for the Iranian regime. It is time for escape plans.
Russian bitcoin transactions may help the elite escape with some loot, but it will not float their economy.
For a plan ‘B’ situation...if expecting massive bank failures (like in Greece in 2015), Bitcoin would make sense.
Over the past month, I’ve read a fair bit over the thirty-odd banks that exist in Iran. Most business analysts expect around a dozen to merge into six banks by the end of this year. It would be an attempt to starve off bank failures for 2018. A lot of private folks are finding ways to shift their savings out of the country....essentially money-laundering. Gold in the region is moving up on list by private individuals.
As long as the EU doesn’t do anything stupid, I think a Greek-like bank crisis probably will occur by summer/fall of 2019. The Mullahs won’t grasp the impact or anger, and some type of coup will occur. If the US was smart...it’d ensure the ‘right’ guy emerges out of this and be standing there to talk the right treaty....with special trade incentives.
If the BRIC nations move to replace the dollar with crypto, look for the US to outlaw crypto in the US.
Blockchain technology will move forward, but eventually Bitcoin/Ethereum will not. The govt won’t allow it to become a threat.
They could do it using Monopoly money. Their funds would be just as safe.
“As long as the EU doesn’t do anything stupid, I think a Greek-like bank crisis probably will occur by summer/fall of 2019.”
Maybe some cyber attacks, or Intelligence operations, could speed that along. Capital flight might also be more pronounced than in Greece - there has already been blood in the streets for the last several months. Last ones out lose.
In any case, the mullahs regime is circling the drain.
Free Iran!
“They seem to talk about bilateral transaction without using dollars.”
They should be able to work something out for a while, on a bilateral basis. The main volume for bitcoin came from people trying to evade currency controls to get their capital out of China, in exchange for dollars that drug cartels were trying to launder.
In the bigger picture, the SWIFT system for interbank transfers has been a very powerful lever of power for the West/US, that the enemies of Western values (Russia, China) would sorely love to replace or be able to work around, as they would the the US dollar’s status as the global reserve currency.
So there is some technological risk that they will find ways around SWIFT to some degree - but they could still be sanctioned for doing so. Also, for large or sustained capital flows, they would still need to get that money back on the books in the SWIFT system, as legitimate money.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan meet in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. (photo credit: SPUTNIK/MIKHAIL METZEL/KREMLIN VIA REUTERS) Buddy, Can You Spare a Bitcoin?
I laughed so hard I passed out. Thanks TigerLikesRooster.
“crypto”... Is it really safe? Are we sure that it can’t be hacked / manipulated? Bartering seems safest.
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They could just break sanctions like President Obama did, send cash. The Iranians accept cash though they might prefer dollars or euros
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