Crypto usage surges in Iran amid mass protests
According to a report by Chainalysis, Iran’s cryptocurrency ecosystem reached $7.78 billion in 2025, with transaction activity rising sharply toward the end of the year. Mass protests in Iran began on December 28 and are still ongoing. The demonstrations were triggered by worsening economic conditions and a record collapse of the Iranian rial against the U.S. dollar.
“Particularly notable is the sharp increase in withdrawals from Iranian crypto exchanges to personal Bitcoin wallets. This spike indicates that Iranians are purchasing Bitcoin far more frequently during protests. Such behavior represents a rational response to the collapse of the Iranian rial, which has now virtually lost its value against major currencies such as the dollar and the euro,” the analysts wrote.
Chainalysis also emphasized that Iran’s government uses digital assets as well. In the fourth quarter of 2025, cryptocurrency activity linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accounted for half of the country’s entire crypto ecosystem. Over the past year, more than $3 billion in assets flowed into addresses associated with the IRGC.
It was previously reported that the IRGC used two UK-based cryptocurrency exchanges to circumvent international sanctions. The total value of those transactions over two years amounted to around $1 billion.
See also: "U.S. stocks fall as the crypto sector and precious metals rise"
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