The ban is an extension of anti-laundering agency's ban passed in December.

While Iran's situation is more volatile than China's, the objective is likely the same: this could reduce the likelihood that anxious traders will buy up cryptocurrency and sell conventional money. While formats like bitcoin have their own problems with volatility, investors might see that as a better bet than the rial's record lows. This theoretically pushes people back toward official money and gives it some stability, however artificial it might be.