FT: Iran Eases Foreign Exchange Controls, Turns to Cryptocurrency to Sustain Cross-Border Trade

BlockBeats News, September 9 — According to the Financial Times, Iran is gradually relaxing its strict foreign exchange controls and tacitly allowing businesses to use cryptocurrencies, particularly Tether (USDT) and Bitcoin, for cross-border transactions, in response to the impact of US sanctions and the war on its economy and financial system.

Sources familiar with the matter said that in recent months, the Central Bank of Iran has quietly encouraged companies to repatriate overseas funds through various means, including using local cryptocurrency exchanges to settle cross-border trade. Meanwhile, businesses can exchange foreign currency on the open market and use export revenues directly to import goods, without having to route everything through the official foreign exchange system.

A corporate executive close to the Iranian regime said the central bank currently does not question how funds are transferred, adding that "using cryptocurrency to receive export payments has become completely normalized."

Data shows that approximately $10 billion worth of cryptocurrency flowed through Iran in 2025. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic also estimates that Iran accounts for about 4.5% of global Bitcoin mining activity, and its low-cost energy enables Bitcoin mining, allowing it to acquire crypto assets that can be used to import goods and circumvent trade restrictions.

Meanwhile, Iran still holds over $100 billion in undeclared overseas and domestic earnings. Iran's supreme audit body previously stated that more than 20,000 individuals and companies have failed to fulfill obligations to repatriate approximately €94 billion in export revenues.

The Financial Times noted that as the US further tightens its blockade on Iran's financial channels, cryptocurrency is becoming an important tool for Iran to sustain cross-border trade and access external funds. However, industry insiders in Iran believe that the scale of cryptocurrency trading remains insufficient to meet the country's vast economic needs.

Tether previously froze approximately $344 million in wallet assets linked to the Central Bank of Iran, and the US Treasury Department has also warned that digital asset transactions with Iran may face sanctions risks.