Here’s how Iran wants to take its financial system on the blockchain
A major project commissioned by the Central Bank of Iran aims to incorporate blockchain technologies in the country’s banking and financial system, and potentially employ a sovereign rial-backed cryptocurrency.
Over the past year or so, the technology arm of the Central Bank of Iran — the Informatics Services Corporation — has been developing prototypes for a comprehensive, nationwide blockchain platform. Named Borna, the platform aims to offer an integrated environment and common standards as well as reduce the costs of developing blockchain solutions and market entry for all of Iran’s banking and financial players.
According to the Borna white paper, the platform offers three essential services of electronic customer identification, token management and online auditing in its initial noncompetitive layer. Banks and other financial players will be able to offer an array of services on the competitive layer, including accepting deposits, offering loans, commercial financing and asset management. The platform’s players can generate revenue through four fee-based methods, namely by establishing data and transaction storage infrastructure, participating in transaction confirmation, providing and sharing data and information with others and creating services on the network and allowing others to use them.
