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- Bitcoin price up 2,000% in the local currency amid severe political turbulence.
- Iran’s ecosystem reached nearly $8 billion in 2025, analysts find.
- That’s over 2% of the country’s entire annual GDP.
Iran’s cryptocurrency market is surging faster than almost anywhere else on the planet, according to a new report by Chainalysis.
The country’s crypto ecosystem reached nearly $8 billion in 2025, or over 2% of the country’s entire annual GDP. The price of Bitcoin has surged about 2,000% in the local currency over the past six months, FX desks show.
Geopolitical turbulence, domestic unrest, and local currency collapse are forcing citizens and state-linked actors toward digital assets, Chainalysis said.
“Cryptocurrency represents not just a sanctions workaround but a way to opt out of a failing system controlled by an increasingly desperate regime,” Chainalysis wrote.
The findings come as the local currency, the Iranian rial, has lost roughly 90% of its value since 2018, while cryptocurrencies as a whole have surged to $3.3 trillion. Annual inflation in the local currency sits above 40%, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Morningstar data shows a rate of about 42,000 rial to the US dollar in December. Now the rate is over 1.1 million rial to the US dollar, having been as high as 1.4 million just a few days ago.
“During the recent mass protests, Iranians have significantly increased withdrawals of Bitcoin to personal wallets, possibly as a flight to safety amid currency collapse and political instability,” Chainalysis said.
Iran is not the only country in crisis that is turning to crypto. Venezuelans have also been making use of digital assets after the country was pushed into further economic uncertainty following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro in early January.
Revolutionary guard orange-pilled
One of the most consequential findings is the growing dominance of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran’s crypto ecosystem.
Addresses linked to IRGC facilitation networks accounted for around half of all crypto value received in Iran in the fourth quarter of 2025, mirroring the group’s expanding grip on the broader economy, Chainalysis said.
Funds received by IRGC-associated wallets topped $3 billion in 2025, up from more than $2 billion the year before. Chainalysis notes this figure likely understates the true scale, capturing only wallets already identified through US and Israeli sanctions designations.
“This does not account for potential shell companies, financiers, or other wallets not yet identified to be IRGC-controlled,” the firm said.
At the same time, ordinary citizens are making a very different use of crypto.
During the most recent wave of mass protests in January, onchain data shows a sharp rise in Bitcoin withdrawals to personal wallets, particularly in the days leading up to Iran’s nationwide internet blackout in early January 2026.
Transfers from exchanges to self-custodied Bitcoin wallets are surging, signalling a rush to take direct control of assets, Chainalysis said.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is down 1.1% over the past 24 hours, trading at $95,664.
- Ethereum is down 1.1% past 24 hours at $3,310
What we’re reading
Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email at lance@dlnews.com.
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