Fresh U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have drawn new attention to a financial network Tehran has built in parallel to its battered banking system: bitcoin mining and a fast-growing stablecoin economy.
Iran legalized crypto mining in 2019, allowing licensed operators to use subsidized electricity in exchange for selling mined BTC to the central bank. Bitcoin has served as a tool for paying for imports and settling trade outside the dollar system, even if indirectly.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis found that Iran’s crypto ecosystem reached $7.78 billion in 2025, growing faster than the year before. That figure is as large as the GDP of some smaller countries such as the Maldives, or Liechtenstein.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the primary branch of the country’s military, has since deepened its role in the space. Chainalysis estimates IRGC-linked addresses accounted for more than 50% of total Iranian crypto inflows in the fourth quarter of 2025, with over $3 billion in value received last year.
The renewed military campaign, which has seen the IRGC retaliate against U.S. bases in various countries in the Middle East, adds fresh risk to this system.
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