Crypto Alliance – Russia and Iran might start using digital currencies, like Bitcoin (BTC), to bypass international sanctions, Russian news source RBC reported[1] yesterday. Both countries are exploring ways to replace the SWIFT interbank payment system and avoid the US dollar transactions said the head of Iranian Parliamentary Commission for Economic Affairs, Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi.
Pourebrahimi met with Dmitry Mezentsev, the Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, and said that collectively they have “engaged the Central Bank of Iran to start developing proposals for the use of cryptocurrency.”
Pourebrahimi made a comment to the press about the meeting and said[2]:
“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.”
Tensions Heightened
Iran and Russia’s decision to ban together seems to be in direct response to President Trump’s actions to persuade India and China to join in on the oil sanctions it has against Iran, the New York Times reports[3]. China and India are currently the biggest buyers of Iranian crude, and they also provide markets for 40 percent of Venezuelan exports.
It seems that the US if forcing sanctions on various countries and their work around these sanctions comes down to cryptocurrency.
Venezuela just released its own oil-backed digital currency, the Petro, in a move that some felt was an ‘illegal’ way to enter into international financial markets. The country as a whole is going bankrupt, and many in the US feel its a way for Venezuela to try and wipe itself clean from its debt without offering anything in return.
Russ Dallen, a managing partner of Caracas Capital
