Iran eases currency controls to allow crypto for export earnings

Sep 9, 2026

The Central Bank of Iran has quietly relaxed its strict foreign currency controls, allowing domestic exporters and importers to use cryptocurrencies like Tether and bitcoin to settle cross-border transactions. The policy shift aims to bypass tightening U.S. sanctions and repatriate a portion of the estimated $100 billion in undeclared offshore earnings held by Iranian businesses. In response, the U.S. Treasury has escalated its enforcement, sanctioning Iran's largest exchange, Nobitex, and freezing hundreds of millions in digital wallets.

Iran cryptocurrency adoption for trade

▪According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, Iran accounts for approximately 4.5 percent of global bitcoin mining activity, leveraging cheap domestic energy to generate digital assets for imports
▪According to data from TRM Labs, approximately $10 billion worth of cryptocurrency was moved through Iran during the year 2025
▪The Central Bank of Iran has quietly relaxed its strict foreign currency controls to allow exporters and importers to use cryptocurrencies, including Tether and bitcoin, to settle cross-border transactions through Iranian crypto exchanges

U.S. sanctions escalation strategy

▪The United States and Iran have engaged in escalating economic and military tensions since late February 2026, putting Iran's estimated $7.8 billion crypto shadow economy under intense scrutiny
▪The United States has blockaded Iranian ports and shifted its strategy toward economic pressure, threatening sanctions on Egyptian and Turkish banks as well as companies associated with Iranian aviation

Foreign currency control relaxation

▪Under Iran's relaxed currency system, traders can exchange foreign currency through the country's open market rather than using government-approved rates, and can use export proceeds to finance imports directly
▪Alireza Bozorgmehri, a member of the Iran Digital Transformation Association, stated that the Central Bank of Iran has loosened its scrutiny of domestic crypto exchanges and no longer strictly enforces its rules
▪The Iranian rial has depreciated to more than 2 million per U.S. dollar in the open market, while domestic inflation has climbed sharply

Undeclared export earnings repatriation

▪The Iranian judiciary estimates that domestic businesses have accumulated more than $100 billion in undeclared earnings at home and overseas due to historical foreign currency restrictions
▪Iran's judiciary spokesperson Ali Kazemi announced that 22 people linked to oil traders have been arrested and warrants have been issued for 19 others in connection with missing export funds
▪Zabihollah Khodaian, head of Iran's General Inspection Organisation, stated that more than 20,000 individuals and companies, including state-owned oil and gas firms, failed to return €94 billion in export earnings

U.S. Treasury crypto enforcement response

▪In June 2026, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Nobitex, which is Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, accusing the platform of facilitating sanctions evasion
▪The U.S. Treasury Department has targeted Iranian digital assets under an initiative termed 'Operation Economic Outcast,' led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
▪Tether froze $344 million worth of its stablecoin in April 2026, and an additional $131 million in July 2026, in digital wallets identified by U.S. authorities as linked to the Central Bank of Iran

Debatable claims

▪Private stablecoin issuers should freeze assets linked to sanctioned governments
▪Cryptocurrency platforms enable sanctioned Iranian entities to circumvent traditional banking restrictions imposed by international sanctions