Iran’s open-market exchange rate fell to approximately 2.02 million rials per dollar, declining from 1.53 million in the first quarter of the year. The drop coincided with the launch of a new U.S. sanctions package, which named digital assets as a sanctionable sector for the first time alongside gold, technology, aviation, and shipping.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the objective is to force Iran’s state-run Bank Melli to lose dollar access entirely, warning that secondary sanctions on trading partners could be implemented within weeks. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund projects Iran’s annual inflation will average 68.9% in 2026, with the economy contracting by 5.4%.
Impact on State-Linked Bitcoin Mining
Tehran legalized bitcoin mining in 2019, allowing licensed operators to use subsidized industrial electricity in exchange for selling their mined coins to the central bank. State-affiliated farms linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) currently control an estimated 65% of Iran's bitcoin mining capacity. Since 2019, Iran-based miners have accounted for between 3% and 7% of the global bitcoin hashrate, generating an estimated $1.35 billion to $3.15 billion in value.
Data indicates that Iran's broader cryptocurrency ecosystem reached $7.78 billion in value last year. Chainalysis estimated that IRGC-linked wallet addresses received more than $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, while Elliptic reported that Iran’s central bank accumulated at least $507 million in USDT to support the rial.
Previous Enforcements and Network Pressures
Washington has previously targeted the network, with the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioning Iranian exchanges such as Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. Nobitex alone processed over half of Iran's digital-asset inflows and assisted the central bank in moving hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins. In April, the Treasury seized nearly $500 million in Iran-linked crypto assets following a cyberattack that drained over $90 million from Nobitex.
Despite mounting pressure, TRM Labs reported that Iran’s total crypto flows reached $3.7 billion in 2025 as geopolitical risks, Tether freezes, and exchange hacks impacted the system. Analysts note that Iran's mining operations face additional vulnerabilities from a strained domestic power grid, where potential blackouts or rationing could disrupt operations independently of regulatory sanctions.
