When you hear about a crypto trading ban in Iran, a government restriction that prohibits citizens from buying, selling, or holding cryptocurrencies for personal use. Also known as crypto prohibition in Iran, it sounds like a total shutdown—but the truth is far more complex. The Iranian government doesn’t actually want crypto to disappear. It wants to control it. While ordinary people face fines or jail for using exchanges like Binance or Coinbase, the state is quietly running massive Bitcoin mining farms powered by subsidized electricity. This isn’t a ban on crypto—it’s a power grab.
This contradiction makes sense when you look at the bigger picture. Iran is under heavy U.S. sanctions that block its access to global banking. So instead of cash, it uses state-controlled cryptocurrency, a system where the government mines, owns, and directs digital assets to fund its operations and evade financial restrictions. Also known as regime crypto, this isn’t about innovation—it’s survival. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC crypto, the military branch that operates Iran’s largest crypto mining operations using state-funded infrastructure. Also known as IRGC mining network), runs these farms 24/7, draining power from households that can’t even afford heating in winter. Meanwhile, citizens are told crypto is illegal, dangerous, and destabilizing—while the regime quietly turns their blackouts into Bitcoin.
The crypto sanctions evasion, the practice of using blockchain technology to bypass financial embargoes by converting value into digital assets outside traditional banking systems. Also known as sanction-resistant crypto, it’s not unique to Iran—but Iran is one of the few countries where it’s state policy. Other nations might turn a blind eye to crypto use. Iran actively weaponizes it. And the result? A two-tier system: one for the elite with access to mined Bitcoin, and one for everyone else stuck with broken laws and broken grids.
What does this mean for you if you’re outside Iran? It shows how crypto regulation isn’t about safety or control—it’s about power. When a government bans something it secretly uses, it’s not protecting its people. It’s protecting itself. The crypto trading ban in Iran isn’t about stopping crypto. It’s about who gets to profit from it. And that’s a warning for every country watching this experiment: if crypto becomes too useful to ban, governments won’t ban it—they’ll own it.
Below, you’ll find real investigations into how Iran’s crypto infrastructure works, who benefits, and how similar tactics are being tested elsewhere. No theory. No hype. Just what’s happening on the ground.
Iran has imposed strict limits on crypto trading to protect the collapsing rial, capping stablecoin purchases at $5,000 annually and banning all crypto ads. Despite this, mining continues for state profit, and citizens still turn to crypto to survive inflation.
