IRGC Controls Half of Iran’s Crypto, Stablecoins Lead

Chainalysis reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accounted for nearly half of the country’s cryptocurrency activity in 2025, controlling roughly $3 billion in on-chain transactions. The firm found the IRGC relies mainly on stablecoins rather than Bitcoin for trade, procurement and a reported toll collected in the Strait of Hormuz. Kaitlin Martin, senior intelligence analyst at Chainalysis, described the IRGC as “taking over an overwhelmingly large share” of Iran’s crypto economy.

Chainalysis researchers estimated the IRGC’s tracked crypto footprint grew from about $2 billion to $3 billion in one year. The $3 billion figure is a conservative, lower-bound estimate based on publicly available data.

Sanctions and seizures provide insight into the group’s activity. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned multiple wallets tied to IRGC actors. Israel’s National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing has seized more than 100 wallets linked to the group; Chainalysis found those seized wallets were using stablecoins.

Stablecoins are tokens pegged to fiat currencies that keep a steady value against a currency such as the U.S. dollar. Chainalysis analysts noted stablecoins enable fast cross-border payments and preserve dollar parity without using traditional banking corridors, making them useful where formal dollar access is limited. Issuers can freeze stablecoin holdings, but their speed and dollar peg support large-scale trade and procurement.

Bitcoin remains in use by regime-connected actors and ordinary Iranians, but Chainalysis found stablecoins were preferred when payments needed quick settlement or when transactions were large. The firm said stablecoins offer operational advantages for pricing or routing access to a maritime corridor such as the Strait of Hormuz.

Domestic Iranian crypto exchanges have increased in volume and activity while sanctions reduced access to major global platforms. Chainalysis warned that a reported toll system for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, priced at least in part in crypto, could accelerate the IRGC’s on-chain activity.

Law enforcement and sanctions authorities have targeted wallets and frozen assets linked to IRGC actors. Despite those actions, Chainalysis’ public estimates indicate significant crypto volumes connected to the group remain in circulation.