Iran's $7.8 Billion Crypto Network, IRGC Flows and U.S. Sanctions Shift in 2025-2026

On 7 March 2026, analysis showed Iran had built a roughly $7.8 billion crypto market in 2025, with wallets linked to the IRGC responsible for more than half of Q4 inflows. After U.S.-Israeli strikes on 28 February 2026, outflows from Iranian exchanges jumped 700% within minutes, while U.S. authorities moved from targeting single wallets to sanctioning entire platforms. Ordinary Iranians, facing 40–50% inflation and a weakening rial, increasingly turned to Bitcoin and stablecoins, even as domestic regulators ordered exchanges to halt certain USDT-rial trades.