Russia, Iran to Co-Create Gold-Backed ‘Token of Persian Gulf’ Crypto Asset: Report

Russia and Iran, two countries that are looking to develop guidelines to regulate the cryptocurrency sector, are reportedly planning to form an alliance to co-develop a stablecoin. The crypto asset, which would be backed by gold as the reserve asset, could be named the ‘token of the Persian Gulf’. This stablecoin is aimed at removing the requirement of fiat currencies for facilitating cross-border transactions. To create this stablecoin, the Central Bank of Iran will team up with the Russian government in the months to come.

The development was revealed by Alexander Brazhnikov, the Executive Director of the Russian Association of the Crypto Industry and Blockchain, as per a report by Russia’s Vedomosti publication.

After Russia declared a military war on Ukraine last year, many nations issued sanctions against Russian citizens accessing funds stored in international accounts.

The turn of events nudged Russia a different way than what it originally intended to do with crypto assets — ban them.

Iran on the other hand, has been approaching the crypto sector with a friendly approach for a while now. The financial regulators there are already expanding the pilot test of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) called the Digital Rial.

Additionally, the US-Iran diplomatic relationship has remained far from cordial in recent decades. Hence, Iran also is looking to eradicate the requirement of the US dollar to facilitate international transactions.

It is reported that the stablecoin, upon its launch, will begin its operations in the special economic region of Astrakhan, where Russia receives cargo shipments from Iran.

More details about the upcoming stablecoin co-developed by Russia and Iran remain awaited.

Stablecoins are those cryptocurrencies, that trade in the otherwise volatile market, retaining better prices than other altcoins in times of a market downer. Stablecoins are pegged against the values of regulated reserved assets like fiat currencies or gold.