Apparently the price has trebled on the local Bitcoins market. So is it rich people trying to preserve their wealth, or is it people using it for everyday purchases? Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi, chairman of Iran’s economic commission, has stated that more than $2.5 billion has been transferred out of the country via Bitcoin. Will this be the primary function of Bitcoin as we creep towards World War 3?
It could just be average citizens afraid that their local currency is going to tank because of possible war or economic sanctions. From what I remember from Venezuela there was a lot of regular citizens buying up bitcoin when their economy went tits up after hyperinflation set in. Maybe people in Iran are just using bitcoin to easily get their money out of the country as I'm sure it's much easier to do than the other cash alternatives which I'm sure a lot of them have already been restricted by the US.
I know that the second most important man of Iran, just died yesterday in that attack.
Is that true? I thought that he was the public head of a covert operations section, and not that important. They seem to have replaced him pretty quickly, and expanded the department, so it looks as if once again the US has shot itself in the foot. It was an orchestrated move according to John Bolton, and not the preemptive strike that the media reports. In fact it was really the murder of a diplomat attending a planned and well reported meeting in a foreign sovereign state, and many see it as yet another example of US terrorism.
The media was basically kind of saying that's he's essentially the second most powerful man in Iran, but not sure how accurate that is. I guess being the head of the military is a powerful position but it's not like it's just one step down from the president.
If i were to guess, these are traders taking advantage of the situation. Of course there are also people trying to preserve their money, and if the Iranian government is doing it, it would be an incredible precedent. Trump might find an excuse to hate Bitcoin even more.
Most Venezuelans were already poor once hyperinflation "hit", those large movements are from traders many of which don't even live in the country. So i can safely guess the same thing is happening in Iran. Sometimes foreigners rent bank accounts from locals for their trades. And yes, distortions often cause incredible local spikes in price, which would let you make a lot of money if you have the needed connections. ie: a bank account in the country, knowledge of local rules (bank limits), local contact etc. Yes there could be some rich people too, and some gov people its a free market after all. That's the beauty of a State-less economy.
Please note that its actually incorrect to say money is getting in or out certain physical place. If it becomes bitcoin, it is bitcoin everywhere. Bitcoin is border-less, once you change your country's fiat into Bitcoin, you have gained a worldwide asset. So rather than saying the money leaves Iran, you could say the money enters Bitcoin. It can still be used inside Iran at any moment, unlike doing the same with forex or some foreign bank account. The difference is huge if you stop to think about it...
Iranians buying bitcoin are not really taking the money out of the country, but they are saving it from both the country (Iranian State) and the potential aggressor/invader (see the military command economy they imposed to Germans after the fall of the 3rd Reich). This is one more reason why Bitcoin is so valuable rather than some physical asset that could be seized or destroyed, or a fiat that could lose all value overnight.
but yeah I would love to see Iranians buying crypto but spending it in Iran tonadopt the currency and parallel use the traditional currency as well to make the economy stronger and transactions with privacy so that no third party country can monitor its transactions.
