Iran‘s digital asset ecosystem reached over $7.78 billion in 2025, growing faster than the previous year, as citizens and Security Forces alike seek to mitigate and circumvent international sanctions and an economic crisis.
According to a report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, published on January 15, Iran’s digital asset activity showed significant spikes that corresponded to several major domestic and geopolitical events over the past couple of years, including the Kerman bombings in January 2024, Iran’s missile strikes against Israel in October 2024, and the 12-day Iran–Israel war in June 2025.
“Against the backdrop of Iran’s increasingly beleaguered regime, facing extraordinary pressure both internally and externally, cryptocurrency has emerged as a critical financial alternative for many Iranians,” read the report. “Iran’s crypto ecosystem reached over $7.78 billion in 2025, having grown at a notably faster pace compared to the year prior.”
The report added that “for Iranian citizens living under a government struggling to maintain economic stability amid inflation rates of 40-50%, cryptocurrency represents not just a sanctions workaround but a way to opt out of a failing system controlled by an increasingly desperate regime.”
Iran has been under various sanctions since 1979. Between 2006 and 2010, due to its nuclear non-compliance, the country faced enhanced international sanctions, including an arms embargo, trade controls, asset freezes, travel bans, and export restrictions. In 2019 and 2020, existing U.S. sanctions on Iran were extended to cover the country’s finance and banking sector.
Iran’s problems were exacerbated this year by U.S. President Donald Trump‘s revival of his first term’s “maximum pressure” campaign, which included sanctioning or imposing enforcement mechanisms on those acting in violation of existing sanctions and implementing a campaign aimed at driving Iran’s oil exports to zero.
This naturally took a significant toll on the Iranian economy, leading to persistent inflation and a hit to the livelihood of average citizens. This came to a head recently as demonstrations erupted across multiple cities in Iran, beginning on December 28, 2025, and continuing up to the present day, which have been brutally put down by the regime, resulting in over 2,000 people reportedly killed.
“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,” said Chainalysis. “This behavior represents a rational response to the collapse of the Iranian rial, which has lost nearly all of its value, rendering it effectively worthless against major currencies like the euro.”
The report added that “this pattern of increased BTC withdrawals during times of heightened instability reflects a global trend we’ve observed in other regions experiencing war, economic turmoil, or government crackdowns.”
But it is not just Iranian citizens who have increasingly turned to digital assets amid the country’s rolling crises. Chainalysis also noted how the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian security forces, has “extensively leveraged digital assets to finance its malign activities” both domestically and through its network of proxies across the Middle East.
Iran’ security forces turn to digital currency
According to the report, addresses associated with the IRGC’s transnational facilitation networks rose steadily over time as a share of the overall Iranian digital asset economy, accounting for over 50% of total values received in Q4 of 2025.
“Notably, it is not just ordinary Iranians who have turned to crypto—the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has extensively leveraged digital assets to finance its malign activities,” read the report.
An example of the breadth and reach of the IRGC’s digital currency operations was seen earlier in January when The Washington Post reported that it had utilized two digital asset exchanges registered in the U.K. to transfer approximately $1 billion since 2023, evading international sanctions.
“This trend has not occurred in a vacuum,” said Chainalysis. Rather, it mirrors the IRGC’s “expanding control over Iran’s broader economy and political institutions.”
The Chainalysis report concluded that the intensification of economic volatility and sanctions pressure, combined with international opprobrium against the embattled Iranian regime, will likely mean digital assets remain a crucial tool for Iranians seeking financial sovereignty.
“The correlation between major political events and spikes in crypto activity underscores how blockchain analytics can provide unique insights in real-time into the economic impacts of geopolitical developments, while highlighting cryptocurrency’s evolving role as both a financial lifeline and potential vehicle for resistance in authoritarian economies,” said the report.
Trump has reportedly made diplomatic overtures to Iran in recent days, but the regime remains reluctant to come to the table on what they see as unequal footing. Thus, for the time being at least, the situation that has led to this spike in digital asset activity remains the status quo, and the country’s digital currency ecosystem may see further growth in the coming weeks and months.
Watch: How do you build a successful ecosystem? Bring blockchain to the builders!
Source: https://coingeek.com/iran-crypto-ecosystem-climbs-to-7-8b-amid-economic-crisis/
