Not so long ago Russia announced to accept Bitcoin as payment for international trade, specifically for accepting it as payment for their oil and gas exports. 'Great' we all said, but then three months later Russia also imposed a ban on using crypto as payment options for citizens, what this basically means is you don't need to count on a legal tender 'a la' El Salvador in Russia anytime soon. Next to Russia now also Iran announced to adapt the use of cryptocurrencies for international trade. The odd thing is that they only mentioned imports, so this naturally means that it is now allowed for businesses and governments to pay with crypto to foreign businesses and countries, but the announcement doesn't mention anything regarding accepting crypto for Iranian exports. So Iran is pretty much doing the opposite of what Russia is doing, but either way all this is good for Bitcoin.😊

It still leaves me wondering though, early January 2022 Iran announced to be working on accept Bitcoin for international trade in both import and export. “We are finalizing a mechanism for operations of the system. This should provide new opportunities for importers and exporters to use cryptocurrencies in their international deals.” Maybe it's still a work in progress and the export part comes later, IDK. Either way, we know the wheels are already in motion regarding the import part as they already placed their first order: "This week, the first official import order was successfully placed with cryptocurrency worth 10 million dollars. By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widespread in foreign trade with target countries." So don't take all those conflicting reports that Iran banned Bitcoin or crypto mining seriously as the overall sentiment is actually quite positive.

Interesting fact about Iran banning crypto mining all the time and then reversing it: It's not done out of animosity towards Bitcoin or other cryptos, it's an energy issue and actually not really a ban but temporary halt. You might not know this, but Iran is a country that despite being an oil rich nation really needs nuclear energy as an addendum for their country's energy needs. The past 25 years, Iranian citizens in many regions were requested to turn off their lights and other equipment that uses electricity during the 'siesta' (yes, Iranians apparently also take an afternoon nap) to avoid power outages. The years before that were much worse as the power would frequently fail at random moments of the day due to shortages caused by the increased demand. So I can understand that crypto mining does not have a high priority under these circumstances just as much I can understand a country opting for nuclear energy under these circumstances, even though some casually choose to ignore this inconvenient fact.😉