IRAN EASES FX RULES. FT: EXPORTERS MAY SETTLE IN CRYPTO.

MONEY / SANCTIONS DESK — The Financial Times reported this week that Iran’s central bank has loosened foreign-exchange controls so exporters can put overseas earnings — including cryptocurrency such as Tether’s USDT and bitcoin — toward import finance and cross-border settlement without first selling hard currency through the state’s official exchange platform at government-set rates. Cointelegraph’s 9 September 2026 wrap of that FT reporting, cross-checked against other named secondary wraps of the same FT account, is Extra’s verification trail. The Central Bank of Iran did not answer Cointelegraph’s request for comment. Extra does not invent a CBI confirmation that does not exist on the record. This is a sanctions-and-FX Extra — not the Iran tankers / shadow-fleet piece.

What FT reported, as carried in those wraps: exporters may finance imports directly with overseas earnings rather than first surrendering foreign currency at official rates; Iranian cryptocurrency channels sit inside that settlement picture, with USDT named as a primary instrument and bitcoin also cited. FT sourcing leans on businesspeople, officials, and analysts — not on a published CBI circular Extra can quote by number this cycle. Industry figure Alireza Bozorgmehri of the Iran Digital Transformation Association, quoted in FT wraps, said the central bank has relaxed oversight of crypto exchanges and no longer insists on the prior strict compliance posture. A steel exporter working with China told the FT he had been allowed to direct foreign revenues straight into needed materials and called the old repatriate-and-sell-cheap regime “absurd.” That is his attributed complaint — not Extra’s trade or investment advice.

FT says exporters may settle overseas earnings — including crypto — into imports. CBI is silent. Treasury’s prior Economic Fury board stays named, not expanded by this Extra.

Prior U.S. Treasury — named only. Extra does not invent new OFAC designations. Early June 2026: OFAC sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges — Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex — under the Trump administration’s Economic Fury campaign. Campaign tally: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. authorities had seized on the order of about $1 billion in Iranian-linked crypto assets. April 2026: Tether froze on the order of about $344 million in USDT at addresses U.S. authorities linked to Iran’s central bank. 14 July 2026: Bessent said authorities directed a freeze of more than $130 million — about $131 million in Tether/Tron wallet wraps — in crypto held in wallets linked to Iran’s central bank. Cointelegraph also noted a June TRM Labs report on multi-year CoinEx–Iran-linked flows; CoinEx denied commercial ties to the Iranian government or domestic exchanges. Extra records claim plus denial.

Structural contrast, not a circumvention manual. Old exporter obligation, per FT wraps: repatriate a large share of hard-currency earnings and sell them on a state platform at official rates often below the open market. FT-reported easing: use overseas earnings to fund imports, including via crypto settlement rails, without that mandatory official-rate sale first. Extra stops there. It does not explain how to move USDT or BTC across borders; name wallets, mixers, bridges, or exchange on-ramps as instructions; advise anyone on holding or settling in any asset; or claim crypto “defeats” U.S. sanctions — the same wraps document large stablecoin freezes tied to CBI-linked addresses. That coexistence is the news frame. A how-to is not.

Two boards, one silence. Tehran (FT-reported / CBI silent): FX surrender rules reportedly loosened; overseas earnings, including USDT and BTC, framed as usable for import finance through Iranian crypto platforms. Washington (named prior only): Economic Fury designations; Bessent’s roughly $1 billion seizure tally; April about $344 million and July more than $130 million freezes on CBI-linked wallets. Until Tehran publishes an on-record circular Extra can cite by date and title, the lead remains FT-reported, not CBI-confirmed. No investment advice. No price targets. No evasion tutorial. No tankers Extra rehash.

CLAIM vs CONFIRMED. HELD as FT-reported: CBI eased FX controls so exporters may fund imports with overseas earnings without official-rate surrender; USDT and BTC usable for cross-border settlement via Iranian crypto channels. CBI comment: SILENT. HELD as prior named Treasury action: June Economic Fury sanctions on Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, Ramzinex; Bessent’s about $1 billion seized tally; April about $344 million and 14 July more than $130 million CBI-linked freezes. OUT OF SCOPE: tankers / shadow-fleet. FORBIDDEN: investment advice or evasion instructions. FALSE framing — do not use: “CBI confirmed crypto defeats sanctions” or any buy/sell tip. VIDEO=no. Nailed down, 10 September 2026, 06:45 GMT. PATH /money/iran-cbi-eases-fx-crypto-settlement. DESK_ID iran-cbi-eases-fx-crypto-settlement. Beat MONEY / SANCTIONS EXTRA. PHOTO: GTVM92 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Bank Markazi Tower, Tehran. Verification only — do not republish. No investment advice. NTH MERIDIAN does not invent circulars, freezes, or tips.

DESK_ID iran-cbi-eases-fx-crypto-settlement. Canonical /money/iran-cbi-eases-fx-crypto-settlement. Filed 10 September 2026, 06:45 GMT. Verification: Cointelegraph cointelegraph.com/news/iran-central-bank-encourages-crypto-evade-sanctions (FT wrap; CBI silent); Financial Times primary reporting via named secondary wraps — verification only, do not republish. Photo: GTVM92 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) — Bank Markazi Tower, Tehran, 3 Dec 2019. Distinct from Iran tankers Extra and /money/btc-treasury-6b-buyback-yields. VIDEO=no. AdSense untouched. No investment advice. NTH MERIDIAN does not invent circulars, freezes, or tips.