Iran’s Bitcoin Volume Soars as Rial Value Enters ‘Death Spiral’

Iran’s national currency has crashed to its record low against the U.S. Dollar as the country prepares to face economic sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

The Iranian Rial, which was just beginning to gain momentum after years of depreciation, set a new low on Monday, trading on an average at 100,000 Rials on the black market. Many Iranians are now agitated that their economy will collapse. The sentiment has furthered because of Iranian authorities’ decision to impose restrictions on foreign currency transactions. The authorities have also started a crackdown on those attempting to circumvent restrictions by purchasing gold coins in the black market.

Stuck between a depreciating national currency and strict law enforcement agencies, some Iranians are reportedly turning to bitcoin and similar decentralized assets to elude sanctions. Since May 2018, when the U.S. announced its sanctions against Tehran, bitcoin trading volume within the country has experienced a marked uptick, though it is still far below the all-time high it set last December. Around the same time, local media had claimed that Iranians had sent over $2.5 billion out of their land to purchase bitcoin and other digital currencies.

https://www.ccn.com/irans-bitcoin-volume-soars-as-rial-value-enters-death-spiral/