Despite tight economic sanctions and a weakening currency, Iran continues to purchase machinery, fuel and military equipment internationally. According to analysts, a major reason behind this is Bitcoin mining, which has given Iran an alternative payment network outside the traditional banking system. Iran gave legal recognition to Bitcoin mining in the year 2019. At that time it was presented as an economic experiment. But now experts say it has gradually transformed into a payment network that avoids sanctions.
used for payments abroad
Bitcoins produced through mining can be directly transferred to government controlled wallets and then used for payments abroad. Due to this, Iran does not have to resort to the traditional banking system for international transactions. SWIFT transfer is not required in this process. Correspondent banks are not used and the monitoring of the US Treasury can also be avoided to a great extent.
Low cost mining, big profits
According to US Bitcoin strategist Jake Percy, the cost to mine one Bitcoin in Iran is around $1,300. At the same time, the price of Bitcoin in the international market is around $73,000. This creates a potential margin of approximately $71,700 per Bitcoin, which can be used in international transactions.
Iran’s crypto ecosystem grew rapidly
According to estimates by blockchain analytics company Chainalysis, Iran’s crypto ecosystem is expected to reach approximately $7.78 billion by 2025. According to the report, more than half of the crypto funding flowing into Iran by the end of 2025 was linked to wallet addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In one year alone, more than $3 billion was transacted through these addresses.
New intelligence signals coming from blockchain
Interestingly, crypto transactions are recorded entirely on the public blockchain. Due to this, intelligence agencies are also getting new information. When the US and Israeli attacks on Tehran occurred on February 28, blockchain analysts had already noticed unusual financial activities before traditional intelligence sources, NDTV reported. Suddenly large amounts of funds started flowing out of Iran’s largest crypto exchange Nobitex. Between February 28 and March 2, approximately $10.3 million was transferred out of the exchange and the hourly transaction volume was 873% higher than the 2026 average.
Not only Iran, other countries are also using the method
According to a crypto analysis report, illegal or banned crypto addresses are expected to receive around $154 billion in 2025. The largest share in this was the funds received by banned institutions. Russia transacted approximately $93 billion through a stablecoin to avoid sanctions. North Korean hackers stole $1.5 billion in an attack on a crypto exchange and funneled it directly into their weapons program. Experts say that blockchain has emerged as a new challenge to the dollar-based global sanctions system, which many countries are using in different ways. According to experts associated with the crypto industry, the nature of technology is such that it works beyond political boundaries.
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