Iran’s stablecoin system shows resilience under fire

The Central Bank of Iran temporarily halted the USDT–toman trading pair during February airstrikes in a bid to slow currency repricing, underscoring how systemically important stablecoins have become within the country’s financial system.

Despite a reported 99% drop in internet connectivity and an 80% collapse in crypto transaction volumes following US-Israeli strikes, Iran’s crypto infrastructure showed what TRM Labs described as “evidence of stress, not failure.”

Before the conflict escalated, Iran’s crypto transaction volumes were estimated at $8–10 billion in 2025, with Nobitex serving roughly 15 million users, highlighting the scale of digital asset integration into the domestic economy.

Analytics firm Elliptic reported that the central bank acquired at least $507 million in Tether last year, while Chainalysis estimated significant crypto flows linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

A subsequent report from the Financial Action Task Force found stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit crypto transaction volume in 2025 and explicitly referenced Iranian proliferation financing, urging issuers to adopt freeze, burn and deny-list capabilities.

The episode exposed a core paradox in the stablecoin ecosystem: the same dollar peg that enables efficient cross-border payments also facilitates sanctions evasion, reinforcing calls for tighter global oversight as stablecoins exceed $300 billion in market capitalisation.