Bitcoin Trading Volume Shoots Up In Iran Amid Sanctions

First it was Venezuela’s citizens. Now it’s Iranians. After reaching a peak during the bull market at the end of last year, bitcoin trading volume had declined substantially this year. But the announcement of trading sanctions against Iran by U.S. President Donald Trump reversed the fall. Bitcoin trading volumes are rising once again in Iran. 

Faced with the prospect of an economic slowdown due to the sanctions, capital controls and rapid deflation in the value of their national currency, Iranians are turning to cryptocurrencies and bitcoin to generate profits and growth. Earlier this year, Mohammed Reza Pour-Ebrahimi told the Iranian parliament more than $2.5 billion had been sent out of the country to purchase cryptocurrencies. According to him, a majority of Iranian investors are investing in cryptocurrencies for “speculative activities and huge profits.” The Iranian central bank had banned bitcoin-related transactions for entities under its controls to prevent