Iran crypto flows top $3B amid sanctions

Iran-linked cryptocurrency networks moved more than $3 billion in 2025 as sanctioned states increasingly used digital assets to bypass restrictions, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

The company’s 2026 Crypto Crime Report estimated that illicit cryptocurrency addresses received at least $154 billion last year, a 162% increase from 2024, with $104 billion tied to sanctioned entities.

“Iran continued integrating crypto into its strategic priorities and financing for proxies, even as the regime faced internal and external pressures not seen since the early days of the Islamic Republic,”

Chainalysis said in the report.

Chainalysis said addresses linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accounted for more than half of all value received by Iranian entities in the fourth quarter of 2025, moving over $3 billion to fund militia networks, oil sales, and procurement of dual-use equipment.

Regional tensions also triggered market reactions as blockchain data showed about $10.3 million in cryptocurrency leaving Iranian exchanges after joint US and Israeli airstrikes, while Bitcoin briefly fell to $63,100 before rebounding above $70,000.