Iran turns to crypto for export payments
- Iran has increasingly allowed businesses to use cryptocurrency for cross-border export payments.
- Tether USDt (CRYPTO:USDT) has become the most widely used crypto asset for these payments.
- Iran recorded about US$9.9 billion in crypto activity during 2025 as sanctions restricted traditional financial channels.
Iran has eased foreign-exchange controls, allowing businesses to use cryptocurrency for cross-border export payments.
Exporters can return overseas funds through domestic crypto exchanges, while also using open markets or export revenue to pay for imports.
“Receiving cryptocurrencies for exports is now totally established,” a business executive close to the Iranian regime told the Financial Times.
Tether USDt (CRYPTO:USDT) has become the most widely used crypto asset for these transactions, followed by Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) and other digital assets.
Iran recorded about US$9.9 billion in cryptocurrency volume during 2025, down from about US$11.4 billion in 2024.
The Central Bank of Iran has not formally announced cryptocurrency as an authorised settlement method for exporters, leaving the reported shift as an unofficial policy change.
US sanctions still expose Iranian crypto exchanges and overseas counterparties to restrictions, while Tether has frozen about US$344 million in USDT linked to Iranian wallets since April.
