Leaders of the Three Branches in Iran Call for Oversight on Cryptocurrencies Amid Currency Market Turmoil

A meeting of the leaders of the three branches of power in Iran was held on the topic of "managing the currency market"; meanwhile, the price of each US dollar remains around 80,000 tomans. In the meeting held on Saturday evening, January 15, the Governor of the Central Bank presented a report on the currency market and "the total effective components." In the last week of Azar, the price of gold and various currencies in the free market of Iran surged, with the price of each US dollar surpassing 82,000 tomans, setting a new record. According to the Iranian presidential website, the leaders emphasized the full authority of the Central Bank for "organizing and overseeing the cryptocurrency market." Recently, following renewed turmoil in Iran's financial markets, the Central Bank ordered the closure of the rial entry gateways for cryptocurrency exchanges. This has sparked widespread criticism among cryptocurrency activists in Iran; furthermore, according to some reports, the Central Bank has set conditions for reopening the blocked gateways, which has faced opposition from cryptocurrency businesses. Reports indicate protests by market traders in Tehran against the surge in currency rates and inflation. Recently, the Governor of the Central Bank announced that Ali Khamenei had agreed to reintroduce the "Palermo and CFT bills" in the Expediency Council. Some economic experts and social media users have pointed out that "news therapy" to prevent the rise in currency rates has a history. They note that each time the economic situation becomes critical, the number of reports about the release of Iran's frozen funds or the possibility of passing the FATF-related bills increases. "Deepening the commercial currency market" and "managing the demand for commercial currency" were two other resolutions made by the leaders on Saturday.