Iran Securities and Exchange Authority: Central Bank Should Regulate Cryptocurrencies

On August 16, Iran’s local daily newspaper Financial Tribune reported that Mohammad Ali Dehqan, head of the Securities and Exchange Organization of Iran (SEO), issued a statement saying that SEO currently has no plans to conduct cryptocurrency transactions in the country’s capital market, but the situation may change if the central bank properly regulates cryptocurrencies.

Dehqan noted that the government’s mining regulations are the only ones currently related to cryptocurrencies, while how mined cryptocurrencies are used is the province of the central bank.

The central bank has not yet made a specific announcement, and digital currency transactions are still not possible in Iran's capital market at this stage. Last month, Iranian lawmakers proposed to ban the use of cryptocurrencies in the country's payment system, while regulating cryptocurrency transactions and providing support for miners. The proposers hope that the central bank will be responsible for the supervision of the cryptocurrency market.

Earlier, Iran’s Internal Revenue Service proposed to impose taxes on digital asset exchanges operating in the country and urged regulators to promote the legalization of such exchanges.