Scammers prey on pro-Iran crypto donors, warn politicians

Crypto scammers are duping Russians sympathetic to Iran into sending them Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and other altcoins, a major political group has warned.

The warning comes from All-Russia People’s Front, a coalition of leading political groups that was launched by and remains loyal to President Vladimir Putin. The coalition said all crypto fundraising drives made in its name were “fake” and originated from scammers.

“The All-Russia People’s Front does not use cryptocurrencies in its fundraising,” said Sergey Gorbunov, Deputy Head of the coalition’s executive committee, in a statement published on its official website.

The warning comes as Russian security agencies continue to crack down on citizens who use crypto to send funds to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian militias fighting on Kyiv’s side, and unnamed “terrorist” groups.

On the other side of the political scale, pro-Russian neo-Nazis have also enjoyed the support of crypto donors in the past.

Everything for Victory

DL News has seen documents circulating on Russian-language Telegram chatrooms that make use of the coalition’s logo and office addresses.

One of the documents featured Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP wallet addresses and called on supporters to send crypto donations.

Its authors claimed the donations would be used to buy electrical generators, thermal bedding, clothing, portable gas heaters, and educational resources for children.

The documents’ authors claim the fundraising campaign is part of the coalition’s Everything for Victory drive.

In its statement, the coalition said that the Everything for Victory campaign only raises funds for Russian soldiers fighting the war in Ukraine.

“Any other information published about the campaign is false,” the coalition said.

Gorbunov said the campaign only accepts donations made using bank transfers via the drive’s dedicated website.

An $8 billion ecosystem

Iran’s crypto ecosystem was worth almost $8 billion in 2025, the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said in January.

The firm said addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps moved coins worth more than $3 billion last year.

“This is not civilian speculation,” Jake Percy, a Bitcoin analyst, told Indian media outlet NDTV last week. “This is state military financial infrastructure.”

The corps has sent roughly the same amount of crypto to regional militia groups, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, Chainalysis added last week.

Percy claimed Iranian Bitcoin mining drives are helping Tehran raise funds for its missile strikes on targets across the Middle East.

“Iran can mine a single Bitcoin for roughly $1,300,” he said.

Bitcoin is currently trading at just under $70,000.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.