Localbitcoin is the leading bitcoin trading network platform of Helsinki and has eventually closed all the trading services in Iran for its users.
The website of Localbitcoin includes several pages for various countries, and it was noticed on May 24, 2019, that the web-page of Iran showed a message ‘LocalBitcoins are currently not available in your selected region’.
Later, LocalBitcoins representative confirmed the news and said the Iranian traders cannot access the services henceforth. Iranian user’s representative stated that if you have already created an account on the platform, then you are allowed to withdraw your bitcoins, but you are not allowed to use it for trading, anymore.
The LocalBitcoin exchange took over Twitter to inform its Iranian users that the services of the exchange are currently not available in your area due to risk. Reports are speculating that from the past few years, Iranian citizens are adopting cryptocurrencies, an alternative way to avoid the US sanction and purchase products and services of foreign countries.
However, LocalBitcoins is not the only exchange to withdraw its services to Iranian traders, other top cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, ShapeShift, Bittrex and Coinbase have already stopped offering services to Iranian users because of their nationality-Iranian bitcoin trader-Ziya Sadr informed the source that this step shouldn’t be a surprise.
This started, when Donald Trump’s administration partially, breached a deal with the government of Iran relating to the non-proliferation of a nuclear weapon, back in 2018. After this, the relations between the two countries started deteriorating.
The LocalBitcoins was gaining a lot of popularity in Iran due to its reliable websites and services it offered to the Iranian users. The exchange connected to the local bank account, and there was no need for an International credit card. Increase in the trading volume over the platform was noticed but then suddenly, on Monday, traders on Telegram started mentioning problems relating to fresh trade and also about updating previous ones. Then the platform confirmed that it is not offering any services to Iran.
Bitcoin the only option against US sanction.
The US imposed economic sanctions on Iran in 1979, and most of the US members had supported the move. Digital currencies have given some hope to the Iranian people. From the past few weeks, tensions were increasing in the region of the Middle East between the US and Iran. Considering recent week, the US military placed regional soldiers on high alert, and the State Department urged non-emergency federal workers to be vacant the country. This move of the exchange is due to tough US economic sanctions imposed by the US on Iran.
The trading data reported by source mentions even before LocalBitcoin closed its services to Iranian customers, the trading volume outside Iran was significantly strong. The trading volume noticed an upward trend until the exchange considered halting its services. The expansion of crypto is considerably fast in Iran as compared to other parts of the world due to US sanctions.
The government of Iran and central banks are happy by allowing its residents to trade with Bitcoin and believes it will open new trading gateway throughout the world, especially at the time when Iran has most of the doors shut.