Iran’s stablecoin lifeline survived the bombs

When airstrikes hit on February 28, Iran’s Central Bank directed exchanges to halt trading in the USDT–toman pair overnight to slow a rapid repricing of the currency, highlighting how deeply stablecoins have been woven into the country’s financial plumbing. In the weeks before the strikes, analytics firms reported striking figures: crypto transaction volumes in Iran reached an estimated $8–10 billion in 2025, Nobitex serves roughly 15 million users, and the Central Bank purchased at least $507 million in USDT.

Firms differ on the scale of IRGC involvement — Chainalysis put it at about half of Iran’s volumes, while TRM identified roughly 5% but flagged over 5,000 IRGC-linked wallet addresses moving $3 billion since 2023. TRM also found two UK-registered companies routed $619 million in stablecoins to IRGC-linked wallets in 2024 alone.

The strikes caused internet connectivity to drop roughly 99%, and crypto transaction volumes fell by about 80% within days.

Iran

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