A recent report published by the American company Chainalysis reveals that 39 percent of “illegal cryptocurrency transactions” in 2024 were carried out by countries under U.S. sanctions, including Iran.
The report states that entities and countries under U.S. sanctions traded $15.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency last year. Financial restrictions and geopolitical tensions have pushed countries like Iran and Russia toward digital assets as a means to circumvent sanctions.
Chainalysis, a New York-based company specializing in Bitcoin tracking and blockchain analysis, highlighted in its recent report Iran’s growing reliance on cryptocurrencies and the outflow of capital from the country through domestic centralized exchanges.
According to the report, capital outflows from Iran through cryptocurrencies reached $4.18 billion in 2024, marking a 70 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Chainalysis attributes this rise not only to the Iranian government’s attempts to evade sanctions but also to Iranians’ growing preference for digital assets due to the sharp devaluation of the rial and soaring inflation in the country.
Previous reports had also indicated that many Iranians, facing international sanctions and economic instability, have turned to cryptocurrencies to safeguard their wealth.
Under these circumstances, Iran’s central bank blocked the payment gateways of all domestic cryptocurrency exchanges in November and December 2024.
The central bank then imposed strict conditions on cryptocurrency trading platforms in Iran, stating that payment gateways would only be reopened if these regulations were met.
Among the central bank’s requirements for granting operating licenses to cryptocurrency exchanges were the submission of detailed transaction records and all user order and trade data.
However, the Chainalysis report indicates that despite the severe restrictions imposed on Iranian citizens’ use of cryptocurrencies, the Iranian government itself is increasingly leveraging this financial technology to bypass sanctions.
