The central question nowadays, except for the regulation issues, is whether cryptocurrencies are the answer to the economic problems so many countries are facing. In the summer of 2017, for example, when Bitcoin was trading for around $9,000 on major international exchanges, certain developing countries saw its price rising to almost $14,000.
Now, the latest example comes from the country of Iran. Iran’s national currency has dropped to one of its lowest levels ever against the US dollar. The reason? The Trump administration is preparing certain economic changes that will affect the country in a big way. And hence, the increase in Bitcoin’s volume in Iran.
CCN reported that Iranians now fear that the entire Iranian economy will soon collapse, as the Iranian Rial is experiencing one of its lowest levels in years. The national currency is slowly, but steadily depreciating. The problem comes from the fact that Iranians are not allowed to trade with foreign currencies and this has posed serious tension within the country.
Given the collapse of the Rial and the economic tensions, Iranians are turning to Bitcoin. The volume traded has rapidly increased. The following could be seen from the graph from CoinDance.
Source: Coin Dance
CCN also reported that one Iranian has been saving up from their salary to purchase Bitcoin in case the Rial collapses and depreciates completely against the US Dollar.
Following the Trump administration’s decisions to chase all people and businesses who do business with Iran, the country has started thinking about their own digital currency and different blockchain solutions. While they are not confirmed yet, many countries are now turning to digital currencies, when afraid that their own national currency will depreciate.