Iran entered an unprecedented digital dark period this month, with internet services shut down for extended periods and traffic virtually nonexistent, drawing global attention. Adding to the woes, foreign media reports indicate that the Tehran government plans to implement a permanent two-tiered internet plan, isolating most users within a closed architecture called the "National Information Network" (NIN) to further strengthen control.
How does a two-layer network architecture work?
According to Filterwatch , Iran plans to redirect state traffic to internal servers. In the future, citizens will only be able to use monitored domestically produced communication services, officially censored video platforms, and financial systems.
The "whitelist" for global internet access is only open to government departments, state-run media, and some research institutions. Meanwhile, past practices of exploiting vulnerabilities using VPNs may become ineffective, and Starlink signal interference has increased to 80%.
In China, instant messaging applications can only operate in a limited manner within an enterprise environment after obtaining the necessary advanced security licenses. In this model, communication is restricted to within the team (enterprise instant messaging applications), while peer-to-peer (P2P) communication outside the organizational network is blocked.
This measure effectively amounts to a complete isolation of professional communications and ensures that private sector data transmission channels are fully monitorable.
The political pressure behind the internet shutdown
The protests that erupted at the end of 2025 have continued to this day, with the death toll exceeding 3,000 (some even say tens of thousands). Faced with an unprecedented challenge to its ruling core, Tehran has chosen to cut off the flow of information under pressure, and the blockade is seen as a necessary means of maintaining stability.
Iranian human rights organizations say the repression tactics were carried out in conjunction with long-term internet isolation to reduce the outflow of protest images and data.
The long-term rift between culture and cognition
More than half of Iran's population is under 35, and the younger generation is accustomed to showcasing their lives online and conducting business via WhatsApp. Now, forced to shift to domestic platforms, there are concerns that this information gap will exacerbate generational and class tensions. A Tehran university student stated, "We've even found it difficult to check papers, let alone collaborate with foreign entrepreneurs."
Experts warn that if a nation continues to remain an information silo, it may face brain drain and a standstill in research and development. A scholar who previously served as a Middle East affairs advisor to the US government pointed out: "Isolating the highly educated middle class from the global economy is tantamount to cutting off the lifeblood of future growth."
Bitcoin becomes a "resistance element"
On the other hand, the value of Iran's own currency has also collapsed. According to a recent report by blockchain data analytics company Chainalysis, the size of Iran's crypto ecosystem has soared to $7.8 billion: people are withdrawing Bitcoin from exchanges to their personal custodial wallets on a massive scale.
Chainalysis's report emphasizes that the pattern of Iranians withdrawing Bitcoin from exchanges to unclaimed personal wallets best illustrates the current situation. The report points out:
This action represents a rational response to the collapse of the Iranian rial, which had lost almost all value.
Chainalysis analysts describe Bitcoin as an "element of resistance," arguing that in an environment of increasingly stringent economic regulations, it provides people with flexibility in terms of liquidity and asset allocation. In other words, Bitcoin's censorship resistance and self-custody function fill a vacuum that traditional financial systems cannot reach.
However, Iran's cryptocurrency ecosystem is not entirely driven by private interests. Chainalysis data shows that addresses associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) received over $3 billion in cryptocurrency last year, accounting for 50% of the overall crypto ecosystem in the fourth quarter of 2025.
