According to Iran’s economy and finance minister, new technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency mining have helped the country raise budget inflows and defy foreign sanctions. The government, according to the high-ranking official, cannot meddle with their development for too long.

Officials from the government warn against stifling crypto development. Tehran has come closer to meeting its income tax targets in recent years, according to Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, Farhad Dejpasand. He disclosed that the adoption of new technology accounted for almost a third of the increase in budget revenue. Dejpasand elaborated on the findings.

In the next four years, blockchains will account for 10% of the global gross domestic product. We have curtailed cryptocurrency mining as electricity usage has skyrocketed, but we cannot stand in the path of technological advancement in the long term.

The economic minister was referring to a seasonal ban on bitcoin mining implemented in the country due to electrical shortages. Due to high cryptocurrency prices and easy availability to inexpensive energy, digital coin minting has exploded in Iran. However, the government has blamed frequent blackouts in numerous cities on its high electricity usage, as well as this year’s drought. Authorities estimate that licensed and unlicensed miners consume roughly 2,300 megawatts of electricity each day.

Iran was able to withstand US sanctions because to new technologies. Farhad Dejpasand, speaking at a ceremony launching two e-commerce ventures, emphasized the importance of electronic trade for the country’s economy. The Islamic Republic’s e-commerce proportion of GDP has climbed by 2.4 times, according to the minister, who was quoted by the Tehran Times earlier this week.

Online commerce transactions surged fourfold between March 20 and September 21, 2020, according to the Iranian E-Commerce Development Centre, compared to the same period the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of newly awarded online business licenses has tripled, as existing enterprises try to react to changing Iranian buying preferences by expanding into web-based sales.

Iran has generally managed to overcome US economic sanctions by utilizing all of these modern technology, according to Dejpasand. They have also contributed to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by supporting Iran’s capital market indicators.

Iran enabled local banks and exchangers to use cryptocurrency generated within the nation to pay for imports, recognizing the potential benefits of adopting crypto to overcome trade hurdles. Regulators, on the other hand, have attempted to ban other sorts of trading, causing Iran’s fintech industry to warn that such limitations would simply limit the country’s prospects. Cryptocurrencies have reportedly assisted Iranian firms in bypassing the restriction on banking, shipping, and insurance services, according to startups.