Iran's first Bitcoin ATM unveiled in Tehran

According to relevant media reports, the 12th International Exchange, Banking and Insurance Exhibition was held in Tehran, where the first Bitcoin ATM in the Islamic Republic of Iran made its debut.
The video of the event was filmed by a crew from the German news agency Ruptly, which is part of the Russia Today media network. In the video, curious people can be seen queuing up to see the functions of the machine, which is printed with the message "This BTM was independently developed by Iran, not imported from abroad." (BTM is a Bitcoin ATM)
Ruptly also interviewed demonstrators and random users about their experiences. “As someone who owns Bitcoin, I feel excited when I use it,” said Elnaz Rahim, a local resident of Iran.

“If I need to exchange into rials (Iranian currency) cash, I can do it in less than three minutes, which makes me very satisfied. I hope we can use this to bypass economic sanctions.”

In fact, Iranian citizens have seen real cases of using Bitcoin to circumvent international sanctions before. In December 2018, Iranian citizens studying in the UK found that they could rely on Bitcoin to pay their tuition fees. Prior to this, Iran had just been subject to economic sanctions and could not pay tuition fees through conventional methods.
The possibility of using Bitcoin in this way is particularly salient for Iranians, as punishing sanctions have been pushing Iran’s energy industry to its limits. With a summer heat wave pushing temperatures to over 127 degrees Fahrenheit, ways to circumvent these measures have become particularly important as energy costs continue to rise.
In March, sanctions were again in the spotlight when Bitcoin Magazine passed the Lightning Torch (via Welsh Bitcoin holder Bitgeiniog) to an Iranian user, with the torch recipient, Ziya Sadr, even calling Bitcoin a safe haven.
Iran became one of the most interesting locations for Chinese Bitcoin miners to deploy in April 2019. Although mining companies found it difficult to transport the necessary mining equipment into the country, they still reported that the government was willing to trade profitable electricity costs in exchange for long-term investment in the country's power plants.
More than 220 companies will participate in the exhibition, and the Tehran Times called the exhibition "the most important event in the domestic capital market, banking and insurance industries", especially considering that nearly 70% of Iran's 81 million residents have become Internet users. (Fengniao Finance)