Tensions with Iran may be behind U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchinâs cryptocurrency compliance comments on Wednesday.
The New York Times reported the Trump administration âhas expressed growing concernâ that this technology is being used to âevade American sanctions on countries like Iran.â
Earlier this week, the Parliament of Iran Research Center published a report suggesting cryptocurrency mining licenses issued in January could generate new tax revenue and bureaucratic fees. A related proposal by the same government-run center suggested this could bring the government upwards of $1 billion in annual revenue from the domestic cryptocurrency mining industry, which is estimated to be valued at $8.5 billion.Â
The report also recommends allocating a portion of the Iranian governmentâs 2021 budget to cryptocurrency mining, though the specifics of that proposal are unclear.
In short, if the Trump administration is trying to starve the Iranian regime into submission, bitcoin (BTC) may give the Islamic Republic a lifeline.
Mnuchinâs comments come days after the Trump administration proposed increasing the Treasury Departmentâs 2021 budget for cryptocurrency oversight. In 2019 alone, various U.S. government agencies spent $5 million on blockchain analytics services from Chainalysis.Â
In July, Mnuchin referred to Facebookâs proposed Libra stablecoin as a ânational security issue,â citing concerns about terror financing and money laundering.