Street demonstrations that erupted across Iran on Dec. 28, 2025, against the Islamic Republic and a deepening economic crisis have triggered a sharp rise in Bitcoin withdrawals from local exchanges. Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis recorded a notable spike from the protest start to Jan. 8, 2026, when Iran imposed an internet blackout. The move suggests Iranians are taking direct custody of their bitcoin at a markedly higher rate than before the unrest.
“Most telling is the surge in withdrawals from Iranian exchanges to unattributed personal Bitcoin wallets,” Chainalysis said in a report published Thursday. The firm described the behavior as a “rational response” to the collapse of the Iranian rial (IRR), which eroded the national unit’s purchasing power from roughly 42 per USD in late December to over 1,050 in mid-January 2026 — a catastrophic slide rendering it almost worthless.
Fixed Supply, Borderless Value
Bitcoin, with its fixed supply of 21 million coins and decentralized, censorship-resistant nature, provides a powerful hedge against crumbling fiat currencies and economic turmoil. It can be moved across borders without bank or government interference, making it especially vital during political crackdowns. For Iranians, BTC offers “liquidity and optionality,” enabling fast access to borderless cash outside official channels.
Chainalysis noted that this pattern is consistent with global trends observed in other regions experiencing war, economic turmoil, or government crackdowns. “When governments squeeze people, they turn to cryptocurrencies,” the report said.
IRGC’s Crypto Embrace
Institutional forces within Iran’s establishment have also deepened their crypto engagement. According to Chainalysis, addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accounted for over 50% of all crypto value received in Iran in Q4 2025. Those addresses handled more than $2 billion on-chain in the fourth quarter alone, bringing the full-year total to $3 billion — a figure likely underestimated, the firm said, because tracking is limited to wallets already sanctioned by the U.S. and Israel.
The dual trend — ordinary citizens hoarding BTC as a safe haven and the IRGC ramping up crypto flows — underscores how blockchain technology is reshaping financial behavior on both sides of Iran’s societal divide.