Dollar-Less Iranians Discover Virtual Currency

[MachineGhost]

Under sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies, dollars are hard to come by in Iran. The rial fell from 20,160 against the greenback on the street market in August to 36,500 rials to the dollar in October. It’s settled, for now, around 27,000. The central bank’s fixed official rate is 12,260. Yet there’s one currency in Iran that has kept its value and can be used to purchase goods from abroad: bitcoins, the online-only currency.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... l-currency

[Tortoise]

That's pretty interesting, but for some reason the article makes absolutely no mention of gold or silver coins for comparison purposes. I would think at least a brief mention would be appropriate in an article like this.

[melveyr]

I read that Turkey is selling a lot of gold to Iran. The US is trying to stop it.

[dualstow]

I read that Turkey is selling a lot of gold to Iran. The US is trying to stop it.

From Reuters:

GAS FOR GOLD

U.S. and European banking sanctions ban payments in U.S. dollars or euros, so Iran receives Turkish lira in payment for its exports, a currency that is of limited value for buying goods on international markets but ideal for buying gold in Turkey.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said last month the lira Iran received from Turkey for its gas was being converted into gold because sanctions meant that it could not transfer cash into Iran.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/ ... 2M20121204