Iran’s central bank used $500M in Tether to fight FX collapse and evade sanctions
Iran's central bank accumulated over $507 million in USDT to bypass sanctions and stabilize its collapsing currency.Summary
According to Elliptic, Iran's central bank amassed over $507 million in USDT to evade sanctions and secure offshore dollar liquidity, utilizing a network of wallets. Initial purchases in April and May 2025, paid in Emirati dirhams, flowed through Nobitex, likely to stabilize the local rial. After a hack on Nobitex in June 2025, the central bank shifted tactics, using cross-chain bridges and decentralized exchanges before routing funds through centralized exchanges. Elliptic suggests the central bank treated USDT as a digital eurodollar system for open market operations and trade, especially as the rial's value halved amid SWIFT inaccessibility. Despite these efforts, Tether froze $37 million in linked wallets in June 2025.
(Source：Crypto Briefing)