Is Crypto Regulated in Iran? The Real Rules, Bans, and Workarounds in 2025
Iran doesn’t ban cryptocurrency outright - but it doesn’t let you trade it freely either. If you think of crypto regulation as a simple yes-or-no question, you’re already wrong. In Iran, it’s a maze of sudden bans, state-controlled gateways, and hidden loopholes. The government doesn’t want you using Bitcoin to send money abroad. But it also doesn’t want you losing your savings to inflation without a way to hedge. So it walks a tightrope: control everything, punish the unlicensed, and pretend it’s all legal.
What’s Actually Allowed?
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is the only entity that can legally issue or approve any cryptocurrency activity. That means no private exchanges, no peer-to-peer trading in rials, and no mining unless you sell your coins directly to the government. In 2019, Iran started forcing miners to hand over all their Bitcoin and Ethereum to the CBI at fixed prices. The catch? The energy costs for mining are so high that most miners either shut down or go underground.
There’s one legal digital currency you can use: the Rial Currency. It’s not Bitcoin. It’s not Ethereum. It’s just an electronic version of the Iranian rial - fully controlled by the central bank. You can’t mine it. You can’t trade it on open markets. It’s designed to replace cash for government payments, not to be a store of value.
For foreign cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Tether (USDT), the rules are different. You can hold them. You can trade them. But only through government-approved platforms that connect directly to CBI payment systems. Every transaction is logged. Every wallet is tracked. The bank sees your IP address, your ID, your bank account, and every coin you move.
The Big Ban: No More Rial-to-Crypto On-Ramps
On December 27, 2024, everything changed. The Central Bank cut off all direct links between Iranian bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges. Before that, you could deposit rials into Nobitex or Bit2C and buy crypto in minutes. After that? No more. You couldn’t convert your salary, your savings, or your family’s remittances into Bitcoin anymore.
This wasn’t just a technical update. It was a financial chokehold. For years, Iranians used crypto to protect their money from hyperinflation. The rial lost over 80% of its value since 2018. Crypto wasn’t a luxury - it was survival. Now, the government made it nearly impossible to enter the market legally.
What’s left? Only one path: foreign exchanges accessed through VPNs. But even that’s risky. Tether froze over 40 Iranian-linked wallets in July 2025, wiping out millions in assets overnight. Most users who still trade now avoid USDT entirely. Instead, they use DAI - a decentralized stablecoin built on Polygon - because it’s harder for any single company to block.
Stablecoin Limits: $5,000 a Year, $10,000 Max
In September 2025, the CBI dropped another bomb: you can’t hold more than $10,000 in stablecoins at any time. And you can’t buy more than $5,000 per year. That’s not a limit for businesses - it’s for every individual.
Why? Because stablecoins are the main tool Iranians use to fight inflation. If your rial is worth half what it was last month, you buy $1,000 in USDT to preserve value. Now, you’re capped at $10,000 total. That’s not enough to protect a family’s life savings over a year. It’s designed to keep crypto as a side hustle, not a financial shield.
The government says it’s to prevent money laundering. But the real reason? They don’t want people escaping the rial system. If enough Iranians stop trusting the currency, the entire economy could collapse. So they let you dip your toes in - but never swim.
Advertising Is Illegal. Even Talking About Crypto Is Risky
Since February 2025, it’s illegal to advertise cryptocurrency anywhere in Iran - online, on billboards, in newspapers, even in WhatsApp groups. The penalty? Fines, account freezes, and possible jail time for repeat offenders.
That means no YouTube tutorials. No Telegram channels promoting exchanges. No Reddit threads about mining rigs. The government doesn’t just regulate crypto - it tries to erase it from public conversation. The only legal source of information is the Central Bank’s own website - and it’s written in Farsi, full of legal jargon, and updated without warning.
Who’s Getting Caught?
Most Iranians who trade crypto aren’t criminals. They’re teachers, doctors, small business owners - people trying to protect their income. But the government targets anyone who looks like they’re moving large sums.
Chainalysis reports that around 60% of crypto trading in Iran happens outside government systems. That means most users are breaking the law - but not because they want to. They’re just trying to survive.
The real targets are the exchanges. Nobitex, the largest Iranian platform, operates under CBI supervision. It’s forced to share every user’s data. In 2025, the Israeli Counter-Terror Financing unit flagged several Nobitex-linked wallets as tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). That’s why Tether froze those accounts. It’s not about crime - it’s about politics.
What About Taxes?
In August 2025, Iran passed its first crypto tax law. For the first time, profits from Bitcoin or Ethereum sales are subject to capital gains tax - just like real estate or gold. The Ministry of Economic Affairs says they’ll start collecting it in Q2 2026.
Here’s the twist: the tax system relies on the same government-controlled exchanges that track every transaction. If you trade on a foreign exchange via VPN, they can’t see it. But if you use Nobitex? Every profit is recorded. You’ll get a tax notice. No appeal. No loopholes.
What’s Next?
The CBI plans to roll out its digital rial for everyday retail use by mid-2026. That means you’ll be able to pay for groceries, fuel, or medicine using a government app - no cash needed. It’s not meant to compete with Bitcoin. It’s meant to replace it.
Meanwhile, Iranians are adapting. More people are using privacy tools like Tor and decentralized exchanges. DAI’s share of stablecoin usage jumped from 35% in Q3 2025 to over 50% by October. People are learning to trade without relying on any single company or platform.
But the cost is high. Trading volumes dropped 11% in the first half of 2025. Account approvals now take 3-5 days. Support lines respond in 72 hours. The system is slow, rigid, and designed to discourage use - not enable it.
Is It Worth It?
If you’re in Iran and you need to protect your money, crypto is still the only real option. But it’s no longer a free market. It’s a controlled experiment - one where the government holds all the cards.
You can trade. You can hold. But you can’t escape their view. And if the U.S. tightens sanctions again - as it did in September 2025 - the rules will change overnight. One day, USDT is legal. The next, it’s frozen. One week, you can mine. The next, your electricity gets cut.
There’s no perfect solution. Just choices between risk and survival.
Leo Lanham
November 7, 2025 AT 11:11So Iran lets you hold crypto but not buy it? That’s like giving someone a Ferrari but taking away the keys and the gas station. Absolute chaos. People aren’t trying to be hackers-they’re just trying not to starve. The government’s playing chess while everyone else is just trying to eat.
Whitney Fleras
November 8, 2025 AT 06:21This is actually one of the most balanced takes I’ve read on Iran’s crypto situation. It’s not black and white-it’s survival. People are using crypto not because they’re tech bros, but because their money is disappearing faster than ice in July.
Brian Webb
November 9, 2025 AT 05:43I’ve lived in Canada my whole life, but reading this made me realize how lucky we are. Even with inflation here, we still have banks that don’t treat you like a criminal for trying to protect your savings. The fact that Iran’s government lets you hold crypto but caps it at $10k? That’s not regulation-that’s psychological control. They want you to feel like you have freedom, but only enough to keep you from rebelling.
And the part about DAI replacing USDT? That’s the quiet revolution right there. People aren’t waiting for permission-they’re building their own systems. It’s beautiful in a tragic kind of way.
Also, the tax law? They’re not trying to collect revenue. They’re trying to trap people. If you use the official exchange, you’re tagged. If you don’t, you’re illegal. Either way, you lose.
It’s like they built a maze and then said, ‘Find your way out, but don’t touch the walls.’
Colin Byrne
November 10, 2025 AT 19:43While the article presents a compelling narrative, it is fundamentally flawed in its underlying assumption that cryptocurrency is a legitimate financial instrument. Cryptocurrency, by its very nature, lacks intrinsic value, is not backed by any sovereign authority, and operates outside the traditional frameworks of monetary policy. The Iranian government’s restrictions are not arbitrary-they are necessary to preserve the integrity of the national economy. To suggest that citizens are merely ‘surviving’ by using crypto ignores the fact that they are participating in an unregulated, volatile, and inherently speculative asset class that poses systemic risks to financial stability. The Central Bank’s approach, while restrictive, is economically rational and fiscally responsible.
Furthermore, the claim that DAI is ‘harder to block’ is misleading. Decentralized does not mean untraceable. The blockchain is a public ledger. Every transaction, even on Polygon, is visible. The Iranian regime’s ability to monitor and sanction wallets is not diminished by the choice of stablecoin-it is merely delayed. The notion that this constitutes a ‘revolution’ is romanticized nonsense.
Finally, the comparison to a ‘controlled experiment’ is inaccurate. It is not an experiment-it is governance. The state has the sovereign right-and duty-to regulate the flow of capital within its borders. To label this as oppression is to misunderstand the nature of sovereignty itself.
Anthony Allen
November 11, 2025 AT 02:56Man, I had no idea this was happening. I thought crypto bans were just in China or Russia. This is wild. People using DAI because USDT got frozen? That’s next-level adaptation. I’ve been in India and seen how people use UPI to bypass banking limits-this feels like the crypto version of that. Respect to everyone just trying to keep their savings alive.
Megan Peeples
November 12, 2025 AT 19:53Wow. Just... wow. The fact that people are still using crypto in Iran-despite the fact that it’s a speculative, unregulated, and fundamentally unstable asset class-is frankly irresponsible. And now they’re moving to DAI? As if that’s some kind of moral upgrade? DAI is still crypto. It’s still volatile. It’s still not legal tender. The government is trying to protect its citizens from financial ruin-and you’re calling it oppression? It’s not oppression-it’s guardianship.
Also, the idea that ‘mining is too expensive’ is laughable. Iran has cheap energy-so why aren’t they mining more? Because the government is controlling the narrative. They’re not stopping mining-they’re controlling the output. This isn’t a ban-it’s a strategic allocation of resources.
And don’t even get me started on the ‘$10,000 limit.’ That’s not a cap-it’s a threshold. Like a credit limit. People need to understand that financial systems have rules. Not everyone gets to hoard wealth. Not everyone deserves to escape inflation. Some people need to suffer so the system survives.
Sarah Scheerlinck
November 14, 2025 AT 09:34I’m from the U.S., and I’ve spent time in Iran through family. I’ve seen how people there hold onto hope even when everything’s falling apart. This article doesn’t just explain crypto-it explains resilience. The fact that people are switching to DAI, using Tor, trading in whispers? That’s not defiance. That’s dignity. They’re not trying to break the system. They’re trying to live inside it without losing themselves.
And the tax law? It’s not about revenue. It’s about control. If you can track every profit, you can punish every person who dares to think for themselves. That’s the real fear.
I just hope more people outside Iran see this-not as a crypto story, but as a human one.
karan thakur
November 16, 2025 AT 09:33This is all a Western propaganda tool. Crypto is a tool of the Zionist-controlled Federal Reserve to destabilize sovereign nations. Iran is being targeted because it refuses to be a puppet state. The so-called ‘inflation’ is manufactured by the IMF and the U.S. Treasury. The real reason for the crypto crackdown is to prevent Iranians from accessing digital gold that could fund resistance movements. The government is not oppressive-it is patriotic. Anyone who uses crypto without state approval is aiding the enemy.
Also, Tether is owned by the same people who run the SWIFT system. Of course they froze wallets. This is financial warfare.
Evan Koehne
November 17, 2025 AT 14:07So Iran bans crypto… but only the kind you can actually use? That’s like banning alcohol… but only the kind that gets you drunk. Brilliant strategy. Next they’ll ban oxygen unless you buy it from the state. At this point, the government isn’t regulating crypto-it’s running a really bad sitcom where the punchline is ‘you’re not allowed to be free.’