The Central Bank of Iran purchased 740 billion won worth of Tether to "defend the rial."
The Central Bank of Iran has reportedly purchased over $500 million (approximately 7.431 trillion won) worth of Tether (peace currency) to stem the devaluation of its national currency. Cryptocurrency data platform Elliptic suggests this move coincides with a surge in cryptocurrency usage amid economic turmoil.
According to a report released by Elliptic on Wednesday, the Central Bank of Iran has acquired more than $507 million (approximately 7.431 trillion won) of USDT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether. The report stated that the purchases occurred as the Iranian rial's value halved in eight months and fell to a historic low.
Elliptic explained, “In the face of extreme economic instability, the central bank used USDt to purchase riyals, replacing the open market operations that would normally be conducted using foreign exchange reserves. The transactions were conducted through the major cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex.”
Nobitex, one of Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, had been handling the holdings of USDt by the Central Bank of Iran, but this strategy changed after a security breach in June 2025. Subsequently, Iranian authorities used cross-chain bridges to transfer their USDt holdings from the Tron network to Ethereum, where they were then converted into other assets and distributed across multiple blockchains and exchanges.
During this process, the issuer, Tether, may have intervened. Elliptic stated that in June 2025, "multiple wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran were blacklisted, resulting in the freezing of approximately $37 million (approximately 54.2 billion Korean won) worth of USDt." Tether has the capability to restrict USDt transactions or asset access under the guise of compliance when necessary.
The use of cryptocurrencies in Iran has recently seen a sharp increase. Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, revealed that the volume of cryptocurrency transactions in Iran has exceeded $7.8 billion (approximately 11.4415 trillion South Korean won) by 2025, and analyzed that digital assets such as Bitcoin are becoming a safe-haven asset to cope with economic instability and inflation.
Iran's purchase of stablecoins, besides stabilizing its own currency, also seems to be based on seeking alternative trade solutions through digital assets, given the backdrop of US financial sanctions restricting its access to international payment systems.
The use of stablecoins at the national level is gradually becoming a reality, while regulatory and legislative discussions on this topic have recently accelerated in the United States. Competition among nations for market dominance is expected to intensify.
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