TEHRAN – Iran has made its first official import order using cryptocurrency this week, the head of the country’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) announced on social media, IRIB reported.

“This week, the first official import order valued at 10 million dollars was successfully registered using cryptocurrencies,” Alireza Peyman-Pak wrote in a Twitt post on Tuesday.

According to the official, by the end of the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (September 22), the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts in foreign trade with target countries will become widespread.

The official didn't specify which cryptocurrency was used in the transaction.

This move could enable the Islamic Republic to circumvent U.S. sanctions that have made some problems for the country’s financial transactions.

The order was a first step towards allowing the country to trade through digital assets that bypass the dollar-dominated global financial system and to trade with other countries similarly limited by U.S. sanctions, such as Russia.

Tehran is one of the largest economies yet to embrace cryptocurrency technology, born in 2008 as a payments tool aimed at eroding governmental control over finance and economies.

Last year, a study found that 4.5 percent of all bitcoin mining was taking place in Iran, partly as a result of the country's cheap electricity. The mining of cryptocurrency could help Iran earn hundreds of millions of dollars that can be used to buy imports and lessen the impact of sanctions.

EF/MA