Crypto Payments Have Completely Normalized in Iran as Its Central Bank Quietly Tolerates USDT for Export Settlement

Iran’s central bank is quietly letting exporters get paid in crypto. According to the Financial Times, receiving export payments in cryptocurrency has “completely normalized” inside the sanctions-squeezed country — with USDT, the dollar-pegged stablecoin, as the workhorse.

By Raj Patel | September 9, 2026

Citing people familiar with the matter, the FT reported on September 9 that Iran’s central bank has eased foreign-exchange controls in recent months and now tolerates cryptocurrency settlement for cross-border trade. Iranian companies can receive payments in USDT, Bitcoin, and other digital assets, and can repatriate overseas funds through domestic crypto exchanges. “Receiving export payments in crypto has now become completely normalized,” an executive at a government-linked company told the newspaper. The Central Bank of Iran did not respond to a request for comment.

The Hook: Sanctions Push, Crypto Fills the Gap

The mechanics are straightforward. U.S. sanctions have cut Iranian businesses off from conventional banking channels. Stablecoins offer a workaround: USDT gives holders exposure to the U.S. dollar without needing a dollar bank account, and the Tron network is widely used for Iranian USDT transfers because of its low fees. Under the reported arrangements, exporters can also convert foreign currency through open markets or use export revenue directly to purchase imports — reducing reliance on Iran’s official foreign-exchange system, which has traditionally forced companies to bring earnings home through state-supervised channels at below-market rates.

One caveat matters: the FT describes a shift in enforcement, not a published law. No public document from the Central Bank of Iran confirms crypto as an authorized settlement method for every exporter. Tolerance by officials does not create legal certainty, and policies can change.

The Scale: Nearly 10 Billion USD in On-Chain Activity

• 9.9 billion USD — crypto volume attributed to Iran during 2025, according to TRM Labs’ 2026 crypto crime report, down from about 11.4 billion USD in 2024.
• 78% — the share of Iran’s attributed 2025 volume (about 7.7 billion USD) handled by four exchanges: Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, per TRM estimates. Nobitex alone reportedly processed more than half of Iranian digital asset activity.
• 344 million USD — USDT frozen by Tether in April 2026 enforcement action linked to sanctioned Iranian wallets.
• 94 billion EUR — export proceeds that more than 20,000 individuals and companies have allegedly failed to repatriate, per figures cited by the FT.

TRM measured both incoming and outgoing transactions linked to Iranian services and entities, and cautions that blockchain attribution remains an estimate. Still, the sustained volume across two years points to structural demand — payments, savings, and trade — rather than speculation. Bitcoin mining adds another channel: Elliptic estimated back in 2021 that Iran accounted for about 4.5% of global Bitcoin mining, though that historical figure should not be read as today’s share.

The Core Conflict: Tolerance at Home, Freezes Abroad

Iran’s domestic acceptance of crypto does not override foreign sanctions — and that’s where the risk concentrates. The U.S. Treasury considers Iranian digital asset exchanges to be Iranian financial institutions whose property must be blocked under U.S. jurisdiction. An official OFAC notice states that U.S. persons generally cannot transact with Iranian crypto exchanges, and — critically for global traders — non-U.S. financial institutions and foreign persons may themselves face sanctions for materially supporting designated Iranian exchanges or facilitating transactions on their behalf.

Washington is not standing still. In June, Treasury designated Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, accusing the platforms of operating in Iran’s financial sector and facilitating activity linked to sanctioned entities. Tether’s 344 million USD freeze in April showed that even offshore stablecoin issuers will act against Iranian-linked wallets under pressure. In other words: the rails exist, but every participant in the chain — exchange, issuer, counterparty — is exposed.

What It Means for the Crypto Market

For everyday investors, the Iran story is a preview of crypto’s geopolitical double life. The same properties that make stablecoins attractive to people under authoritarian or sanctions pressure — instant settlement, no bank required — make them a growing headache for regulators, and a talking point for politicians who want tighter stablecoin rules. Every sanctions-evasion headline strengthens the case for the compliance and freeze infrastructure that issuers like Tether are already building.

It also shows the limits. Roughly 10 billion USD in annual on-chain activity is small next to Iran’s wider economy and trade needs — digital assets improve settlement access but cannot replace banking relationships, trade finance, or large-scale foreign-exchange markets.

The Verdict

Iran has effectively become a real-world stress test of sanctions in the stablecoin era. The central bank looks the other way; exporters get paid; Treasury and Tether play whack-a-mole with the exchanges and wallets involved. Nothing here changes what Bitcoin trades at — around 79,100 USD at the time of writing — but it shapes the regulatory environment every crypto user operates in. Watch for further OFAC designations and stablecoin freezes as enforcement catches up with adoption.

As of this writing, Bitcoin trades at approximately 79,100 USD, Ethereum at 2,505 USD, and Solana at 104 USD. The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.