Crypto exchanges to avoid if you are Iranian in 2025
As of 2025, Iranian crypto users face asset freezes, government crackdowns, and sanctions that make most exchanges dangerous. Learn which platforms to avoid and how to protect your funds.
Iran Crypto Exchanges: What You Need to Know About Trading and Mining in 2025
When people talk about Iran crypto exchanges, platforms where Iranians buy, sell, or trade digital assets under strict state oversight. Also known as cryptocurrency trading hubs in Iran, they’re not like Binance or Coinbase—there’s no public directory, no official licensing, and almost no transparency. What exists is a network of peer-to-peer trades, offshore platforms, and state-approved mining operations that quietly keep the economy moving.
The real story isn’t about trading apps—it’s about survival. In 2024, Iranians sent over $4.18 billion, the total value of cryptocurrency exported from Iran to preserve wealth amid hyperinflation. This wasn’t gambling—it was a lifeline. With the rial losing value daily, Bitcoin, the primary digital asset used by Iranians to store value and import goods. Also known as digital gold in Iran, it became the only reliable currency that couldn’t be devalued by government policy.
Crypto mining in Iran is legal—but only if the government says so. The state controls electricity access, sets mining quotas, and even runs its own large-scale mining farms. Private miners need permits, face sudden shutdowns, and must sell most of their output through state channels. It’s not about freedom—it’s about control. And that’s why you won’t find a single Iranian-based exchange with real customer support or public audits. Most users rely on non-KYC platforms like GroveX or BloFin, not because they prefer them, but because local options don’t exist.
The rules are shifting fast. Mining is tied to energy rationing, just like in Kazakhstan. If the grid gets overloaded, miners get cut off. If oil prices drop, electricity subsidies shrink—and mining becomes unprofitable overnight. Meanwhile, the government uses mining to earn foreign currency, turning cheap power into imports of medicine, parts, and tech. That’s why crypto sanctions, international financial restrictions targeting Iran’s access to global banking. Also known as Iranian financial isolation, they’ve pushed the country to build its own crypto-based trade system.
There’s no official list of Iran crypto exchanges because there aren’t any in the traditional sense. What you’ll find instead are underground P2P networks, Telegram groups, and foreign platforms accessed via VPNs. The people using them aren’t day traders—they’re doctors, teachers, and small business owners trying to protect their savings. The tools they use—BitCoke, GroveX, BloFin—are chosen for privacy, low fees, and the ability to move money out of the country. Regulation isn’t protecting users here. It’s controlling them.
If you’re looking for a guide to Iranian crypto platforms, you won’t find one built by locals. What you’ll find below are real reviews of the exchanges Iranians actually use—broken down by risk, fees, and reliability. You’ll see how mining laws change with the seasons, why Bitcoin is the only coin that matters, and what happens when the power goes out. These aren’t speculative takes. They’re reports from the front lines of a country turning to crypto just to keep running.