Iran's cryptocurrency holdings are equivalent to a third of the country's gold market

On December 9, according to Bitcoin.com, economist Mohammad Sadegh Alhosseini said that the value of cryptocurrencies held in Iran is between 30 billion and 50 billion dollars, accounting for about one-third of the country's gold market. The daily cryptocurrency trading volume in Iran is about 143 million dollars (100 trillion riyals).
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the Ministry of Finance are working on measures to increase transparency in the cryptocurrency market, which has been used to bypass U.S. sanctions on the international banking sector. On Saturday, the CBI released a policy paper aimed at bringing cryptocurrency transactions into line with Iran's anti-money laundering and tax laws.
Mr. Alhosseini warned that tighter regulation could expose companies evading sanctions to US penalties, which would hold the CBI liable, suggesting that private entities could play a role in organising markets and reducing the risk of direct government oversight.