Iran’s rial fell to a record low this week, with the open-market exchange rate reaching about 2.02 million rials per U.S. dollar on Aug. 24, compared with roughly 1.53 million in the first quarter. At the same time, the U.S. government launched what the report called “Operation Economic Outcast,” adding more than 60 entities to the Treasury blacklist and, for the first time, treating digital assets as a sanctionable area. The report also tied Iran’s crypto infrastructure to state-linked actors, saying farms connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, control about 65% of the country’s bitcoin mining capacity. Iranian miners have accounted for about 3% to 7% of global Bitcoin hash rate since 2019, with mined bitcoin valued at roughly $1.35 billion to $3.15 billion at different stages. Chainalysis estimated that wallets linked to the IRGC received more than $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, while Elliptic said the Central Bank of Iran holds at least $507 million in USDT.
Iran’s rial fell to a record low this week, according to Odaily, with the open-market exchange rate dropping to about 2.02 million rials per U.S. dollar on Aug. 24. In the first quarter, the rate was about 1.53 million rials per dollar.
At the same time, the U.S. government launched what the report called “Operation Economic Outcast,” adding more than 60 entities to the Treasury Department blacklist and, for the first time, naming digital assets as a sanctionable area.
Mining capacity and on-chain holdings tied to Iran
The report said state-run farms linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, control about 65% of Iran’s bitcoin mining capacity. Since 2019, Iranian miners have represented about 3% to 7% of global Bitcoin hash rate, with bitcoin mined in the country valued at about $1.35 billion to $3.15 billion at different points.
Iran legalized bitcoin mining in 2019. Licensed operators can use industrial electricity priced at about $0.004 per kilowatt-hour and sell the mined tokens to the Central Bank of Iran.
Chainalysis estimated that wallets linked to the IRGC received more than $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Elliptic said the Central Bank of Iran holds at least $507 million in USDT.
Previous U.S. Treasury actions
In June, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. Nobitex had handled more than half of Iran’s digital-asset inflows, the report said. In April, the Treasury seized nearly $500 million in crypto assets tied to Iran.
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