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

Russia and Iran, two countries seeking to develop guidelines to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, plan to form an alliance to co-develop a stablecoin. The crypto asset, which would be backed by gold as a reserve asset, could be named the “Persian Gulf Token”. This stablecoin aims to remove the requirement for fiat currencies to facilitate cross-border transactions. To create this stablecoin, the Central Bank of Iran will partner with the Russian government in the coming months.

The development was revealed by Alexander Brazhnikov, executive director of the Russian Crypto and Blockchain Industry Association, according to a report by Russian publication Vedomosti.

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

The turn of events pushed Russia in 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 quite some time now. Financial regulators are already expanding the pilot test there of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) called Digital Rial.

Moreover, diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran have remained far from cordial over the past decades. Therefore, Iran is also seeking to eradicate the requirement of the US dollar to facilitate international transactions.

It is reported that the stablecoin, upon launch, will begin operations in the Astrakhan Special Economic Region, where Russia receives shipments from Iran.

More details on the next stablecoin co-developed by Russia and Iran remain awaited.

Stablecoins are those cryptocurrencies, which trade in an otherwise volatile market, maintaining better prices than other altcoins during market downturns. Stable coins are pegged to the values ​​of regulated reserved assets like fiat currencies or gold.

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