Report Shows Huge Increase in Iranian Bitcoin Acquisitions Amid Global Unrest
A new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis shows that there has been a huge increase in Bitcoin acquisitions in Iran over the past month, as the country faces unrest and protests across the country. The report specifically looks at the increase in withdrawals in the crypto market to anonymous Bitcoin addresses, indicating that locals are eschewing the country’s centralized financial infrastructure in favor of a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital system.
As for the details, the report shows a 262% increase in the number of withdrawals of more than $10,000 in what are believed to be bitcoin wallets since the protests began across the country. According to the report, the reasons for the growing interest in bitcoin protection include the deterioration of the value of the Iranian rial and the growing demand for citizens to work outside of government-controlled financial channels.
The report also reveals that the outbreak of Iranian crypto activities was observed with other major domestic and political events such as the bombing of Kerman in January 2024, the Iranian missile attack on Israel in October 2024, and the 12-day war. Nobitex, Iran’s largest and most popular exchange, was also hacked for $90 million during the 12-day battle.
“This pattern of increased BTC withdrawals during periods of volatility reflects a global trend we have seen in other regions experiencing war, economic turmoil, or government collapse,” the report said.
At Chainalysis’ point, this is not the first time a sharp increase in Bitcoin adoption has been noticed in a country facing some kind of crisis. In the past, Chainalysis has released reports involving the rise of child adoptions in Ukraine amid the war with Russia, Argentina and the devaluation of Venezuela’s currency, among others.
Recently, countries like Venezuela and Russia have used bitcoin and stablecoins like Tether’s USDT to avoid economic sanctions. According to a recent report from Chainalysis, this type of sanctions evasion came after a year of crypto record $154 billion in illegal spending.
Unrest has continued in Iran since late December, as protesters are fed up with the devaluation of the Iranian rial and other economic difficulties. These grievances are compounded by long-standing issues such as corruption, repression, and government mismanagement. In this way, the use of Bitcoin itself can also be seen as a form of protest where people simply opt out of the traditional financial system.
Ironically, the Iranian regime has also been found to be using crypto to evade sanctions and money laundering. In fact, the same recently released Chainalysis report shows that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accounts for almost half of all crypto activity in Iran, which is estimated at $7.78 billion. A recent report from TRM Labs also revealed that two crypto exchanges in the United Kingdom were successful industries of the Iranian regime, and another previous report from Elliptic indicated that Iran was involved in bitcoin mining in order to monetize its energy resources.
This situation shows the chaos of authoritarian regimes around the world when it comes to Bitcoin, as the features that make it useful for the government to avoid restrictions in the global banking system controlled by the US also allow it to be used by the local community for greater financial freedom.
Bitcoin is not the only technology that has proved useful to Iranians during the protests, as the existence of Starlink is one of the only reasons information has been able to leave the country during the internet blackout imposed by the government. While the mesh-networking-based Bitchat has seen a surge in adoption in other troubled countries recently, a version of the app called Noghteha has gained popularity in Iran. Although, there was a conflict with Noghteha due to its closed fountains and collection of donations.
