Iran's Central Bank Acquired $507M in USDt to Prop up Rial: Elliptic
22.01.2026
12022
Blockchain analytics platform Elliptic reported that the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) acquired more than half a billion dollars worth of Tether's USDt, with indications that the stablecoins were used to prop up the country's fiat currency.
Iran's Central Bank Goes Full Crypto Degen: Scoops Up $507M in USDT to Save Its Currency
Hold up — Iran's central bank just pulled a massive crypto move. According to blockchain sleuths at Elliptic, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) quietly stacked over half a billion dollars worth of Tether's USDT stablecoin. Why? To desperately prop up their collapsing national currency, the rial. This isn't just some retail trader's bag — it's a sovereign state using a private stablecoin as a financial life raft. Wild times.
Elliptic dropped the report on Wednesday, revealing the CBI had amassed roughly $507 million in USDT. The analytics firm says the bank likely used the digital dollars to either stop the rial's freefall or to settle international trade deals — basically using crypto to do the job traditional cash reserves usually handle.
"The CBI's accumulation of USDT began in earnest during a period of extreme economic volatility. The value of the rial had halved in just eight months, to a record low against the dollar (at the time). Iran's central bank may have attempted to stem this decline by buying rials with USDT on Nobitex, effectively using cryptoassets to perform open market operations that would usually be conducted with cash reserves." — Elliptic
The operation ran through Nobitex, one of Iran's biggest crypto exchanges, until June 2025 when the platform got hacked. After that, the CBI got creative — bridging funds from the TRON blockchain to Ethereum, swapping assets, and hopping across chains and exchanges to keep the stash moving.
Here's the kicker: Tether can still freeze these funds. Back in June 2025, they blacklisted several wallets linked to the CBI, locking up about $37 million in USDT. So even a central bank isn't safe from the freeze button.
Crypto Adoption Skyrockets in Iran Amid Chaos
This isn't happening in a vacuum. Chainalysis data shows Iran's crypto economy ballooned to over $7.8 billion in 2025. With hyperinflation and economic instability, locals are flooding into Bitcoin and stablecoins as a safe haven — turning to decentralized finance while their traditional system crumbles.
- • Elliptic reports Iran's central bank acquired ~$507M in USDT.
- • Funds were likely used to support the collapsing rial or for international trade.
- • Transactions initially flowed through Iranian exchange Nobitex until a June 2025 hack.
- • Post-hack, CBI moved funds across blockchains (TRON to Ethereum) and various exchanges.
- • Tether froze ~$37M in CBI-linked wallets in June 2025, showing central banks aren't immune to blacklists.
- • Iran's overall crypto ecosystem hit $7.8B in 2025 as citizens seek refuge from economic turmoil.
#Tether#Geopolitics#Cryptocurrency sanctions#National banks and cryptocurrency#stablecoins
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