As Iran’s economy reels from deepening unrest and currency collapse, cryptocurrency activity related to the country soared to nearly $7.8 billion in 2025, according to a new report from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
According to Chainalysis, this data shows that digital assets are increasingly playing two distinct roles. One is as a means of economic escape for civilians during times of instability, and the other is as a growth path for state-related actors operating under sanctions.
Chainalysis writes: “For Iranians living in a government struggling to maintain economic stability as inflation rates reach 40-50%, cryptocurrencies are not just a means to circumvent sanctions, but a way to opt out of a broken system run by an increasingly desperate regime.”
Chainalysis said the $7.78 billion figure represents a sharp increase from 2024. As protests intensified in Iran in late December and authorities imposed nationwide internet restrictions, withdrawals from crypto exchanges to personal wallets surged as access to state-controlled financial channels became less reliable.
Bradley Lettler, a senior fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, said Iran’s move toward self-regulation during the protests reflects the appeal of bitcoin in an environment characterized by financial repression and currency instability.
“In countries where the population is afraid of the government, worried about financial censorship, or sees their currency appreciating, Bitcoin provides an alternative,” Letler said. decryption. “If any of these increase, you should expect your ownership of Bitcoin to increase. And the only way to maintain access to your Bitcoin and be able to use it privately is to withdraw it to your personal wallet. This appears to be what is happening in Iran.”
Since its creation in 2009, Bitcoin has been used by activists and dissidents as an alternative payment method, and became widely known in 2011 when WikiLeaks began accepting Bitcoin donations in the face of a financial blockade from PayPal.
The study, published in the International Review of Economics and Finance, also found that Bitcoin usage tends to increase during times of crisis, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and wars in Ukraine and Palestine, as access to banks and payment networks is disrupted.
While the report highlights the increased use of Bitcoin among protesters, it also documents an increase in state-linked cryptocurrency activity. Addresses associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accounted for more than 50% of all crypto value received in the country in the final quarter of 2025, according to Chainalysis’ analysis of sanctioned wallets.
“The Revolutionary Guards play an important role in Iran’s economy, and their adoption of Bitcoin sends a signal to the rest of the world and the Iranian people that Bitcoin has value,” Letler said, adding that activists like Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation have called Bitcoin a “Trojan horse for freedom.”
Chainalysis said the report’s numbers likely underestimate the true scale of state involvement in Bitcoin. Its analysis focused on addresses already identified and designated by US and Israeli authorities, excluding unidentified intermediaries, shell entities, and intermediaries that may play a role in the movement of digital assets.
Taken together, these findings suggest that Bitcoin has become entrenched as part of Iran’s financial landscape, both by individuals seeking to preserve their personal wealth and by sanctioned actors circumventing U.S. regulations.
“Political leaders will acquire Bitcoin because of its investment potential, but it will also help the people of that country learn more about Bitcoin and want to acquire Bitcoin themselves,” Letler said. “Then they find themselves with money that cannot be manipulated, has significant financial privacy, and is censorship-resistant.”
He added: “By seeking wealth through Bitcoin, rulers are giving their people more freedom.”
