Iran has one of the strangest crypto policies in the world: it lets you mine Bitcoin but bans you from buying it with your rial. By December 2025, the government had turned digital asset trading into a high-stakes game of rules, limits, and hidden workarounds - all while the Iranian rial keeps losing value faster than ever.
Why Iran Banned Crypto-to-Rial Trading
In late 2024, the Central Bank of Iran shut down every website that let people trade cryptocurrency for Iranian rials. No more buying Bitcoin with your salary. No more selling Ethereum to pay rent. The goal? Stop the rial from collapsing completely.
The rial has lost over 90% of its value since 2018. Inflation is out of control. People are desperate to protect their savings. Crypto - especially stablecoins like USDT - became the only real option. But the government saw that as a threat. If everyone moved their money out of rials, the currency could die. So they cut the pipes.
The ban wasn’t total. In January 2025, the Central Bank started allowing a few licensed exchanges to operate again - but only if they gave the government full access to every transaction. Your name, your ID, your wallet address, your trade history. All of it. No privacy. No anonymity. Just control.
Stablecoin Limits: $5,000 a Year, $10,000 Max
On September 27, 2025 - just hours before new UN sanctions kicked in - Iran dropped its most specific crypto rule yet: you can only buy $5,000 worth of stablecoins per year. And you can’t hold more than $10,000 total.
That’s not a suggestion. It’s a legal limit. The Central Bank gave people one month to sell off any excess. If you had $15,000 in USDT, you had to get rid of $5,000. If you didn’t? You risked fines, account freezes, or worse.
Why stablecoins? Because they’re tied to the U.S. dollar. For Iranians, USDT isn’t crypto - it’s survival. It’s how they buy medicine, send money to family abroad, or save for a car. The $5,000 cap means a family can’t even protect half their annual income from inflation. The $10,000 ceiling? That’s less than the cost of a used car in Tehran.
Advertising Is Now Illegal
In February 2025, Iran made it illegal to advertise cryptocurrency anywhere - online, on TV, on billboards, even in WhatsApp groups. No more influencers promoting Binance. No more YouTube videos showing how to buy USDT. No more ads for Nobitex, Iran’s biggest exchange.
This wasn’t just about control. It was about erasing crypto from public view. The government didn’t want people thinking crypto was normal. It wanted them to forget it existed - even though millions were still using it.
And it worked, sort of. Ads disappeared. But underground networks grew. Telegram channels became the new stock tickers. Private groups replaced public promotions. The ban didn’t stop trading - it just made it harder to find.
Tether’s 0 Million Freeze and the Move to DAI
On July 2, 2025, Tether - the company behind USDT - froze 42 cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iranian users. Over half of them connected to Nobitex, Iran’s top exchange. Some wallets had ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is under U.S. sanctions.
The freeze was the biggest Tether has ever done. And it sent shockwaves through Iran’s crypto community. Overnight, people lost access to millions of dollars in savings.
But Iranians adapted fast. Within days, crypto influencers and exchange operators started pushing a new plan: dump USDT. Buy DAI instead. DAI is another stablecoin - but it runs on the Polygon network, which is cheaper, faster, and less monitored by U.S.-based companies.
It wasn’t perfect. But it worked. DAI became the new rial hedge. People switched not because they liked it better - but because Tether couldn’t freeze it as easily.
Iran’s Own Digital Currency: The ‘Rial Currency’
While cracking down on Bitcoin and Ethereum, Iran quietly launched its own digital currency: the Rial Currency. It’s not decentralized. It’s not mined. It’s just electronic rials - controlled entirely by the Central Bank.
Think of it like a government app that lets you pay for groceries with your phone. No blockchain. No volatility. Just another way for the state to track every penny you spend.
The pilot started on Kish Island, a tax-free zone where foreigners come to shop. The goal? Replace U.S. dollars in local trade. But so far, no one outside the government seems to trust it. Why would you use a digital rial when the real rial is falling apart?
Crypto Mining Is Still Legal - and Profitable
Here’s the twist: while you can’t trade crypto in Iran, you can mine it. And Iran is one of the top five Bitcoin mining countries in the world.
Why? Cheap electricity. The government pays almost nothing for power. So mining rigs - thousands of them - run nonstop in warehouses, basements, and even homes. Bitcoin mining brings in about $1 billion a year. That’s real cash for the state.
But the grid is cracking. Cities have rolling blackouts. The government now limits how much power miners can use. Still, mining continues. Because for Iran, crypto isn’t about freedom. It’s about revenue.
Taxes on Crypto Profits Are Now Real
In August 2025, Iran passed its first crypto tax law. If you make money trading Bitcoin or Ethereum, you pay capital gains tax - just like you would on real estate or gold.
This is huge. It means the government no longer pretends crypto doesn’t exist. It admits it’s here. And now it wants a cut.
The tax isn’t enforced yet. It’s being phased in slowly. But the message is clear: if you profit from crypto, you’re not hiding anymore. The state knows. And it’s coming for its share.
How Iranians Are Still Trading - Even With All the Rules
Despite all the bans, limits, and taxes, crypto trading hasn’t stopped. It just went underground.
People now use:
- Peer-to-peer (P2P) apps like LocalBitcoins and Paxful
- Telegram groups where traders meet in private chats
- Foreign exchanges with fake IDs or VPNs
- Friends who travel abroad to buy crypto and bring it back
Some even use gold or foreign cash as intermediaries - selling rials for gold, then gold for crypto outside Iran, then crypto back to rials through a trusted contact.
It’s messy. It’s risky. But it’s the only way to keep savings alive.
What This Means for the Future
Iran isn’t trying to stop crypto. It’s trying to control it. To use it for revenue. To block its use as a tool for rebellion. To make sure the rial doesn’t vanish - even if it means turning its own people into financial prisoners.
The result? A country where mining is legal, trading is restricted, advertising is banned, and holding crypto is capped - yet millions still find a way.
This isn’t just about Iran. It’s a preview of what other sanctioned nations might do. China already bans crypto. Russia walks a tightrope. Venezuela tried and failed. Iran is the first to combine all these tactics - and survive.
For ordinary Iranians, crypto isn’t an investment. It’s a lifeline. And no law, no cap, no freeze can fully cut it off.
Can I still buy Bitcoin in Iran?
Yes, but not with rials. You can’t buy Bitcoin directly from Iranian exchanges using your bank account anymore. But you can still buy it through peer-to-peer platforms, Telegram groups, or by using foreign accounts and VPNs. The only legal way to get crypto now is through government-approved exchanges - and even then, you must give them your full identity and transaction history.
What happens if I hold more than $10,000 in stablecoins?
You’re breaking the law. The Central Bank of Iran requires you to reduce your holdings to under $10,000. If you don’t, your accounts could be frozen, you could face fines, or your identity could be flagged for further investigation. While enforcement isn’t always immediate, the government has full access to exchange data - so they know who has what.
Why does Iran allow crypto mining but ban trading?
Mining brings in hard currency - Bitcoin that can be sold abroad for dollars or euros. That’s money the government needs to fund its operations. Trading, on the other hand, lets people escape the rial. That weakens the currency and undermines state control. So they let mining continue - but only if they can monitor every transaction and profit from it.
Is DAI safer than USDT in Iran?
Yes, for now. After Tether froze Iranian wallets in July 2025, DAI became the preferred stablecoin because it runs on the Polygon network, which is less tied to U.S.-based oversight. Tether can freeze USDT. DAI’s decentralized structure makes it harder to block - though not impossible. Many Iranians now use DAI as their main store of value.
Can I use Iran’s digital rial instead of crypto?
Technically yes, but practically no. The digital rial is just an electronic version of the paper rial - so it loses value at the same rate. It’s not designed to protect your savings. It’s designed to track your spending. If you want to preserve wealth, the digital rial won’t help. That’s why people still turn to crypto - even with all the risks.
Are there any legal ways to send crypto out of Iran?
No direct legal path exists. Sending crypto out of Iran is considered capital flight and is illegal under current laws. But people do it anyway - through trusted contacts abroad, foreign exchanges with fake IDs, or by converting crypto to physical goods (like gold or electronics) and shipping them out. There’s no official system. It’s all unofficial, risky, and personal.
Will Iran’s crypto restrictions last?
As long as the rial keeps falling and sanctions stay in place, yes. The government won’t give up control. But if the economy improves or sanctions are lifted, restrictions might ease - or shift. Right now, crypto is a tool for survival. The state won’t let people use it freely, but it also can’t stop them entirely.
