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Iran’s Cryptocurrency Market Reaches ¥1.2 Trillion amid Military Involvement

Iran’s Cryptocurrency Market Reaches ¥1.2 Trillion amid Military Involvement

Chainalysis reports Iran’s $7.78 billion crypto market grew in 2025 amid protests and currency devaluation, with IRGC-linked wallets receiving over half of Q4’s crypto value.

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Fact Check
The assessment is based on strong, consistent evidence from multiple credible sources. The most authoritative source, Chainalysis, a leading blockchain analysis firm, values Iran's crypto ecosystem at $7.8 billion. Several other relevant news outlets (Yahoo Finance, The Block, DL News, Decrypt) corroborate this finding, frequently rounding the figure to $8 billion.Crucially, one of the sources (DL News) explicitly makes the conversion mentioned in the statement, reporting the value as '$8 billion (approximately 1.2 trillion JPY).' A currency conversion at a recent exchange rate (e.g., 150 JPY per USD) confirms that $8 billion is equivalent to 1.2 trillion JPY. Even the more precise $7.8 billion figure from Chainalysis converts to approximately 1.17 trillion JPY, which makes '1.2 trillion JPY' a reasonable and accurate representation.There are no contradictions among the relevant sources; they all point back to the same core data from Chainalysis. The U.S. Treasury source provides context on sanctions but does not offer a competing valuation. Other sources like the OECD and the gambling market report were correctly identified as having low or no relevance. The high authority of the primary data source (Chainalysis) and the consistency across secondary reports provide high confidence in the statement's truthfulness.
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Summary

Chainalysis reported Iran’s cryptocurrency market expanded to $7.78 billion in 2025, fueled by domestic protests and the Iranian rial’s devaluation. In December, protests and an internet shutdown led to a surge in Bitcoin withdrawals to personal wallets. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked addresses received over 50% of Iran’s total crypto value in Q4, highlighting extensive military involvement in the sector.

Terms & Concepts
  • Cryptocurrency: A type of digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security and operates on decentralized networks such as blockchain.
  • Bitcoin: A decentralized digital currency operating without a central bank that enables peer-to-peer transactions and is recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain.
  • Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: An elite military force in Iran tasked with protecting the country’s Islamic system and often involved in national economic activities, including digital assets.