Bank failures, war conflicts: Iran's $7.8 billion cryptocurrency "shadow economy" becomes the focus again
As the US-Israel coalition escalates military actions against Iran, Tehran’s years-long “shadow economy” has once again become an international focus. This parallel system, combining Bitcoin mining and stablecoin trading, has become Iran’s last shield in seeking survival outside the battered banking system and dollar dominance.
Using cheap electricity to mine Bitcoin
Iran legalized cryptocurrency mining as early as 2019, allowing licensed operators to use government-subsidized electricity for mining. The condition is that all mined Bitcoin must be sold to the Central Bank of Iran, becoming an important tool for paying for imports and settling foreign trade, thereby bypassing the dollar system and Western banking sanctions to some extent.
According to statistics, Iran’s Bitcoin mining hash rate accounts for about 2% to 5% of the global total, but many mining activities are not fully disclosed, so the actual scale may be higher.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis found that Iran’s crypto ecosystem had grown to a $7.8 billion scale by 2025, nearly equivalent to the GDP of Maldives or Liechtenstein. Notably, crypto activity tends to surge during military conflicts or domestic unrest, including during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel last year.
As Iran’s main military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has increasingly relied on cryptocurrencies in recent years. Chainalysis estimates that in Q4 2025, wallets associated with the IRGC accounted for over 50% of Iran’s total crypto inflows, receiving assets worth over $3 billion last year.
These figures only include publicly known wallet addresses directly related to sanctions lists; the actual scale could be higher.
Rial crashes 96%, USDT becomes new favorite for trade settlement
Besides Bitcoin, stablecoins also play a key role. Blockchain analysis firm Elliptic reports that by 2025, Iran’s central bank accumulated at least $507 million in USDT, likely used to stabilize the Rial exchange rate and support foreign trade. However, this financial defense seems to have had limited success. Data shows the Rial has depreciated over 96% against the US dollar.
Faced with deep-rooted hyperinflation and an economy on the brink of collapse, ordinary Iranians are also shifting assets into Bitcoin. Data indicates that during recent anti-government protests, the amount of Bitcoin withdrawn from centralized exchanges to personal wallets surged sharply, showing locals’ efforts to hold assets themselves.
Mining costs only about $1,300 per Bitcoin
External estimates suggest that the cost of mining one Bitcoin in Iran is around $1,300. Miners sell the mined Bitcoin to the central bank, which then transfers funds overseas to pay for equipment, fuel, or daily necessities.
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