Iran is increasingly using cryptocurrencies to settle cross-border trade as the country faces intensifying U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade, the Financial Times reported on Sep. 8.

A cryptocurrency is a digital currency that runs on a blockchain, a shared public ledger, allowing money to move across borders without passing through the traditional banking system.

The country’s central bank has in recent months quietly eased its strict foreign currency controls, encouraging businesses to bring funds back into the country through whatever channels are available, including crypto exchanges that handle Tether’s USDT and Bitcoin (BTC), citing regime insiders, business executives and analysts, the report said. …