Darius Baruo
Jan 15, 2026 15:54
Chainalysis data shows Iran’s crypto ecosystem reached $7.78B in 2025, with IRGC-linked addresses controlling 50% of activity. Bitcoin withdrawals surge during protests.
Iran’s cryptocurrency ecosystem swelled to $7.78 billion in 2025, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps now controlling roughly half of all on-chain activity, according to new blockchain intelligence from Chainalysis. The data paints a picture of crypto serving dual purposes: a sanctions evasion tool for the regime and a financial escape hatch for ordinary citizens watching their currency collapse.
IRGC Tightens Grip on Crypto Flows
The numbers are stark. IRGC-associated wallet addresses received over $3 billion in 2025, up from $2 billion the prior year. By Q4 2025, these addresses represented more than 50% of Iran’s total crypto volume—a steady climb that mirrors the paramilitary organization’s expanding stranglehold on the broader Iranian economy.
These figures likely undercount the true scope. Chainalysis notes they only include addresses identified through OFAC sanctions designations and Israel’s counter-terror financing bureau. Shell companies, unidentified facilitators, and laundering networks remain unmapped. Earlier this month, a separate report found the IRGC moved $1 billion through UK-registered crypto exchanges alone.
The IRGC’s crypto operations extend well beyond Iran’s borders. Linked addresses facilitate commodity transfers, illicit oil sales, arms shipments to proxy militias across the Middle East, and systematic sanctions evasion through what Treasury designated in September 2025 as an “Iranian shadow crypto banking network.”
Crypto Activity Spikes With Conflict
Chainalysis identified clear correlations between major political events and surges in on-chain activity. The Kerman bombings in January 2024, which killed nearly 100 people, triggered one spike. Iran’s October 2024 missile strikes against Israel following the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders prompted another.
The June 2025 “12-day war” proved particularly revealing. Joint U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs coincided with cyberattacks on Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, and Bank Sepah, a major IRGC banking channel. Hackers breached Iranian state TV to broadcast footage of women’s protests.
Bitcoin as Escape Route
The most telling behavioral shift emerged during mass protests that erupted in late December 2025. Comparing the pre-protest period (November 1 to December 27) with the protest window (December 28 to January 8, when the regime imposed a blanket internet blackout), Chainalysis observed significant increases in both transaction volumes and transfers to personal wallets.
Withdrawals from Iranian exchanges to unattributed personal Bitcoin wallets surged. With the rial having lost approximately 90% of its value since 2018 and inflation running 40-50%, Iranians aren’t just hedging—they’re exiting a collapsing monetary system entirely.
BTC’s appeal goes beyond capital preservation. Its censorship-resistant, self-custodial nature offers something traditional assets can’t: the ability to move wealth outside government-controlled channels. For those who might need to flee, that optionality matters.
What Comes Next
The dual-use nature of crypto in Iran creates a regulatory puzzle with no clean answers. Sanctions pressure will likely intensify IRGC reliance on digital assets for financing operations, while economic deterioration pushes more ordinary Iranians toward the same technology. Chainalysis expects IRGC-linked wallet identification to expand as more of the laundering infrastructure gets exposed through ongoing Treasury and Israeli designations.
For now, blockchain data offers something rare: real-time visibility into how economic stress and political instability reshape financial behavior in closed societies.
Image source: Shutterstock
Source: https://blockchain.news/news/iran-crypto-volume-irgc-dominance-2025
