It was Voltaire that once said, “paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value: zero”. The US dollar is getting close in that respect, in that $100 in 1913 would only be worth about $3.87 today. In the race to the bottom, however, the Iranian Rial is winning. It took around a 5th of the time for Iran to achieve this decrease. One such purported reason for the invention of Bitcoin in 2008, was to counter this specific situation. Although it is unknown who exactly started Bitcoin, one untrustworthy source claims that it was invented by an Iranian called Seyed Satoshi Nakamotonejad. So, it shouldn’t surprise you that we have this thing, Bitcoin in Iran.
Bitcoin leads in the cryptocurrency world, a world that inadvertently avoids forced devaluations, but more importantly, a world that can circumnavigate sanctions. In such a situation, using Bitcoin as a means of trade would surely be attractive to nations hammered by sanctions (do we need to spell out who?). So, Iran! Yes, Iranians have taken to Bitcoin: mining it, selling it and trading with it. During this episode, we let you know how Bitcoin can be bought, sold and used in Iran, but we don’t stop there. We also let you know how foreigners and Iranian travellers abroad can benefit from using cryptocurrencies. To help us with this, we invited Mostafa Khalilnasab, an expert in such fields, to help us, help you figure this all out. So, listen to this episode to get clued-up on cryptos in Iran.
Questions we kinda also get answers to during this episode
- Did the Iranian, Seyed Satoshi Nakamotonejad, invent Bitcoin?
- Do Iranians mine Bitcoin in Iran?
- Where can I use Bitcoin in Iran?
- Exactly how crippling is inflation in Iran?
- How can I support Ask An Iranian podcast?
- Why is Mohammad “ghahr” with (ignoring) Elon Musk?
Where can I buy Bitcoin in Iran?
There are several places for buying cryptocurrencies in Iran, and listed below as a few that we know of. If we’ve missed any, please let us know in the comments section below. Please note that we have not used any of these Iranian cryptocurrency services so cannot vouch for their reliability. Any usage of these companies should be done so at your own risk.
Where can I use cryptocurrencies in Iran?
If you’re doing business with an Iranian company or person, ask if they accept Bitcoin — there’s a chance they’ll accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method.
Although there aren’t currently many cryptocurrency payment-gateway service providers in Iran, the number is growing. In fact, one of the most well-known Iranian payment service providers, Zarinpal.com (the Iranian version of Stripe.com) along with other Iranian fintech startups recently announced that they are going to enter the scene, soon.
Below, we’ve added a list of places where you can use cryptocurrencies in Iran. If you have a business that accepts Bitcoin in Iran, please let us know in the comments section below, and we’ll add it to the list.
- Last we heard, you can sell your Bitcoin for Iranian Rials at an ATM in the IKIA airport in Tehran
Where can you follow Mostafa Khalilnasab online?
Our guest for this episode was Mostafa Khalilnasab, a renowned leader in tech companies, a start-ups coach and an expert on cryptocurrencies. If you are interested in following our guest, you can follow Mostafa on Twitter here. Should you wish to check out his work history, you can follow Mostafa on Linked In here.
Translations of Persian (Farsi) used during this episode
| Persian | English translation |
|---|---|
| Havij bastani: | “Carrot juice and Iranian ice cream” |
| Boro baba: | An exclamation, meaning something like, “get out of here!” |
| Bede baba: | “Give it (to) dad” – kind of a phrase |
| Baba shekari: | A direct back-translation of “sugar daddy” |
| Jaanam: | “My dear” – sometimes said in response to somebody when you didn’t hear what they say |
| Ghabeli shoma nadare: | “To you, it has no price/value” – a Persian ‘taaroff’ term that is said by Iranians when money is offered for something |
| Poor roo: | “(To be) spoilt” |
Image credit: Ask An Iranian’s Bitcoin wallet address in the form of a QR code
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