Iranian authorities have eased oversight of foreign-currency transactions in recent months and encouraged businesses to return funds to the country, including via cryptocurrencies, the Financial Times reported. The shift gives Iranian companies more options for financing trade and imports amid war and a tightening U.S. blockade.

Local businesses are using the Tether stablecoin, or USDT, and bitcoin for cross-border settlements through Iranian crypto exchanges. Exporters previously had to repatriate a significant share of their foreign-currency earnings and sell it on a state platform at an official rate that was often far below the market rate, prompting some companies to accumulate funds abroad or return them without declaring them.

Cryptocurrencies enter Iran’s parallel financial system

Business representatives and analysts said the Central Bank of Iran effectively began permitting more ways to repatriate funds after war broke out in February. Traders can use cryptocurrencies, exchange foreign currency on the open market or direct export proceeds to finance imports without routing the money through the official foreign-exchange system.

“The central bank doesn’t ask how that money was transferred,” said one businessman close to the regime. He said using cryptocurrencies to receive export payments “has now become fully established.” The central bank declined to comment.

Iran has spent years developing alternative international-settlement mechanisms to bypass Western sanctions, and demand for those tools has grown as the United States has intensified economic pressure. Tether, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, enables settlements without direct access to the traditional banking system. TRM Labs said nearly $10 billion in cryptocurrency flowed through Iran in 2025.

The U.S. Treasury has said that “the Iranian regime is increasingly turning to cryptocurrency as a tool of choice for sanctions evasion.” In April, Tether froze $344 million in cryptocurrency held in wallets that U.S. authorities linked to Iran’s central bank.

“This is not just a novelty or a hobby. This is a country that’s been excluded by [global payments systems] for quite a while,” said Ethan Danon, strategic adviser for national security at blockchain analytics company Chainalysis. He called increasing cryptocurrency use a response to “the structural realities of geopolitics.”

Iran also obtains crypto assets through bitcoin mining. Elliptic estimates that the country accounts for about 4.5% of global bitcoin production, allowing it to obtain crypto assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars that can be used to pay for imports and evade trade embargoes and sanctions.

Washington targets cryptocurrency channels

In February 2026, Binance came under scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers following reports of possible Iran-linked transfers totaling $1.7 billion. Binance rejected the allegations and said its compliance system was effective.

An international investigation in May also focused on Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex, which was accused of facilitating sanctions-evasion fund movements. The platform is linked to an influential Iranian family, and its operations are viewed as part of the country’s parallel financial infrastructure.

In July, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, accusing them of using digital marine insurance paid for with cryptocurrencies to circumvent restrictions. At the end of August, the Treasury announced Operation “Economic Exile,” targeting Iran and related organizations. The measures covered 60 counterparties and vessels, while Washington warned that foreign entities continuing to do business with Iran, including in crypto assets, could also face sanctions.

Iran pursues unreturned export revenue

Tehran is also intensifying enforcement against companies that conceal export earnings. Zabihollah Khodaian, head of Iran’s General Inspection Organization, said more than 20,000 individuals and legal entities had failed to return about €94 billion. Separate cases concerning €23.5 billion considered unreturned are under investigation, while judiciary representative Ali Kazemi said 22 people linked to the oil trade had been arrested and warrants issued for another 19.

Alireza Bozorgmehri, a representative of the Iran Digital Transformation Association, said the central bank had loosened oversight of crypto exchanges and “no longer insists” on strict enforcement of its rules. Trading volumes on domestic crypto platforms have increased, he said, although they remain insufficient to meet Iran’s large-scale financial needs.

A steel trader working with China said exporters can now direct revenue toward importing necessary materials. “Regulations in general have relaxed. Before, we had to give a commitment to bring back our income from exports to the country in foreign currencies and sell them on a special platform at lower prices, which was ridiculous,” he said.

Economist Saeed Laylaz said further sanctions would increase cryptocurrency use: “The more the economy goes underground, the more there is a need to use cryptocurrencies.”

Source: Incrypted