Iran reportedly plans to continue using cryptocurrencies to acquire weapons, according to a Financial Times report. The assets would be used to purchase ballistic missiles, warships, and other types of weaponry.
Iran Relying on Cryptocurrencies for Its Armaments
The Financial Times report indicates that Iran’s Ministry of Defense expressed interest in cryptocurrencies this week. The country, which is subject to heavy international sanctions, already uses crypto-assets to circumvent the restrictions imposed on it
However, the Ministry of Defense would like to go further and use cryptocurrencies to procure ballistic missiles, warships, and other types of “advanced” weaponry.
The Iranian Ministry of Defense’s Export Center […] states that it is ready to negotiate military contracts allowing for payments in digital currencies. [This is] one of the first known cases in which a nation-state has publicly indicated its willingness to accept cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for the export of strategic military equipment.
Circumventing international sanctions
Iran is expanding its evasion tools, which allow it to circumvent international sanctions. Last month, the United States announced that it had sanctioned 29 ships in a “ghost fleet” used for the clandestine delivery of Iranian oil.
The country, which has been the target of U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities, is also reported to have funded its program using cryptocurrencies.
Furthermore, although it is difficult to confirm these figures, Iran reportedly accounted for 4.5% of the computing power used to mine Bitcoin in 2021, according to Reuters. Due to the opacity of transactions, it is impossible to accurately estimate the scale of the cryptocurrency networks used by Iran.
It is interesting to note that countries subject to severe economic sanctions, such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, are turning to cryptocurrencies. This highlights the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, which were designed to operate outside the control of governments.
