Is Crypto Regulated in Iran? The Full Picture on Laws, Bans, and How People Still Trade

Is crypto regulated in Iran? The answer isn’t yes or no-it’s complicated. Iran doesn’t ban cryptocurrency outright. But it doesn’t let people trade freely either. Instead, the government has built a system that controls every step: who can mine, what coins you can hold, how you buy them, and even which exchanges you’re allowed to use. This isn’t about stopping crypto. It’s about making sure the state owns it.

How Iran Got Here: Sanctions, Power Outages, and Digital Survival

Iran’s crypto story didn’t start with a law. It started with survival. When international sanctions cut off access to global banking in the late 2010s, Iranians turned to Bitcoin and Ethereum not as investments, but as lifelines. People used crypto to pay for medicine, send money to family abroad, and buy goods that couldn’t be imported through normal channels.

By 2020, Iranians were trading $16-20 million in crypto every single day. Mining became popular too-cheap electricity and high global prices made it profitable. But then came the power outages. In December 2024, massive blackouts hit cities across Iran. Investigations found hundreds of illegal mining farms running 24/7, draining the grid. The government didn’t just shut them down. It changed the rules.

The 2025 Regulatory Overhaul: Total Control

In January 2025, President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a new directive that rewrote everything. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) became the only legal authority over crypto. No more private exchanges operating in the shadows. No more anonymous trading. Everything now runs through government-approved systems.

Here’s what that means in practice:

• All crypto platforms must use CBI-controlled payment gateways. You can’t buy crypto with your bank card unless the bank reports the transaction to the central bank.
• Miners must sell all their coins to the CBI. Since 2019, Iranian miners have been forced to hand over their Bitcoin and Ethereum to the government at fixed prices-far below market value. Many quit. Others went underground.
• Every transaction is tracked. The CBI has full access to wallet addresses, transaction histories, and user identities. TRM Labs called it “unprecedented state surveillance.”

This isn’t regulation like in the U.S. or EU. It’s control. The goal isn’t to protect users. It’s to monitor, tax, and redirect crypto flows into state hands.

What You Can and Can’t Do Today

As of early 2026, here’s what’s allowed-and what’s banned:

• Allowed: Buying and selling crypto on government-licensed exchanges like Nobitex, after full ID verification.
• Allowed: Holding stablecoins-but only up to $10,000 total, and you can’t buy more than $5,000 per year. This rule hit hard in September 2025.
• Allowed: Using Iran’s own digital currency, called “Rial Currency.” It’s not Bitcoin. It’s just electronic rials, issued and controlled by the central bank. No mining. No decentralization.
• Banned: Advertising crypto in any form-on social media, billboards, TV, or even WhatsApp groups.
• Banned: Using foreign-mined cryptocurrencies for domestic transactions. You can’t pay your landlord in Bitcoin, even if they agree.
• Banned: Mining without a government license. Unlicensed miners face fines, equipment seizures, and even jail time.

The Stablecoin Crackdown: Why Tether Got Frozen

One of the biggest shocks came in July 2025. Tether, the company behind USDT, froze 42 Iranian-linked wallet addresses-over half of them tied to Nobitex, Iran’s biggest exchange. The reason? U.S. sanctions. Tether had to comply or risk losing access to global banks.

The move sent panic through Iran’s crypto community. People had been using USDT to protect savings from the rial’s collapse. Suddenly, thousands were locked out. The government didn’t help. Instead, it pushed users toward DAI, a decentralized stablecoin built on the Polygon network. By October 2025, DAI’s share of Iranian stablecoin usage jumped from 35% to over 50%.

But DAI isn’t perfect. It’s harder to buy. It needs technical know-how. And it’s not backed by the state. So while it gives users more freedom, it also makes them more vulnerable.

How People Are Bypassing the Rules

Despite the tight controls, Iranians are still trading. How? They’re not giving up-they’re adapting.

• VPNs are everywhere. Over 60% of crypto trading in Iran now happens through foreign exchanges like Binance or Kraken, accessed via virtual private networks.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is booming. People meet in person or use encrypted apps to swap crypto for cash. No exchange. No government records.
• Barter networks are growing. Some traders exchange crypto for gold, electronics, or even cars-avoiding currency conversion entirely.
• Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are replacing centralized ones. Platforms like Uniswap and SushiSwap don’t require KYC. You just need a wallet and a VPN.

It’s not easy. The government blocks many DEXs. Transaction fees are higher. Support is nonexistent. But for many, it’s the only way to protect their money.

Taxes, Surveillance, and the Future

In August 2025, Iran introduced its first crypto tax. Profits from trading are now subject to capital gains tax-just like real estate or gold. The Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to link crypto tax filings to existing bank and income records by mid-2026.

This is the next phase: formalization. The government wants to bring crypto into the tax net-not to support it, but to extract value from it. Every profit you make, they want a cut.

And the surveillance isn’t slowing down. The CBI now monitors wallet addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). U.S. and Israeli agencies have documented transfers from Iranian exchanges to IRGC-affiliated wallets. That’s why foreign firms like Tether keep freezing accounts-it’s not random. It’s compliance.

What This Means for You

If you live in Iran, crypto isn’t illegal-but it’s not free. You can use it, but only if you play by the state’s rules. And those rules change often. One month, DAI is safe. The next, it’s blocked. One week, you can trade on Nobitex. The next, they update their API and your app stops working.

If you’re outside Iran and thinking about sending crypto to someone there, think twice. Sending USDT could get their wallet frozen. Sending Bitcoin might trigger a government audit. Even sending a small amount could put someone at risk.

The Iranian crypto market is still huge-estimated at $30-50 billion. But it’s shrinking. Trading volume dropped 11% in the first half of 2025. Why? Because control kills innovation. When every step is monitored, when every coin is tracked, people stop trusting the system. They stop using it.

Iran’s government didn’t ban crypto. It tried to own it. And in doing so, it made it harder, riskier, and less useful for the people who need it most.