Report: The Central Bank of Iran has purchased over $500 million in crypto assets in the past year to cope with the rial crisis.

PANews reported on January 21 that, according to a Bloomberg report, an Elliptic report shows that the Central Bank of Iran purchased over $500 million worth of dollar-pegged digital assets in the past year to cope with the currency crisis and circumvent US sanctions. The analytics firm stated that the Central Bank of Iran made two USDT purchases in April and May 2025, with the funds initially flowing to an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange where users can hold, trade, or exchange USDT for rials.

The report points out that due to restrictions on oil exports, the inability to repatriate export revenues, and exclusion from the SWIFT system, Iran's foreign exchange reserves have continued to decline, impairing the central bank's ability to defend the value of the rial and curb inflation. Using stablecoins would help Iran establish a "sanctions-resistant" banking mechanism and create a "shadow financial layer" capable of holding dollar value and unregulated by US authorities.

According to a previous report by Chainalysis, Iran's cryptocurrency ecosystem is projected to grow to approximately $7.78 billion by 2025.