Javad Javidnia, Secretary of the Criminal Content Definition Task Force, has stated that any cooperation in Iran with the Telegram Messaging App to launch Gram, the cryptocurrency of the Messaging App, will be regarded as a threat to national security. In addition, the authorities consider the offense to be a disruption to the national economy.
Javidnia said “One of the most important factors in banning Telegram was a sense of serious economic threat from its activities, which was unfortunately marginalized and neglected due to the fuss in the political atmosphere of the country.”
Iran has always been hostile to cryptocurrency, including social media. In December 2017, after a mass protest to ‘maintain peace,’ the country’s authorities temporarily blocked public access to Telegram and the photo – sharing app Instagram. Later in April last year, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself prevented all government officials from using Telegram, followed by a similar order from the country’s judiciary.
Private placement worth billions
In early 2018, Telegram announced the development of a blockchain – based Telegram Open Network platform. In two private token sales rounds, it raised about $1.7 billion later. Iranian officials were highly critical of Telegram’s shift to blockchain and believed that the platform could potentially ‘undermine Iran’s national currency’ by introducing cryptocurrency in the country.
Telegram is adhered to by the cryptocurrency community worldwide because of its privacy features. In July 2018, the Iranian government censored access to cryptocurrency exchanges due to the growing popularity of Bitcoin in the country.
People support Crypto
Despite the hostility of the Iranian government, digital assets are very popular among a large number of its population. As Finance Magnates reported earlier, many Iranians adopt cryptocurrencies to mitigate the damaging effects of years of US sanctions on the economy. In addition, reports have shown that the country also has the idea to introduce a national cryptocurrency.