Iran Loosens Currency Rules, Turns to Crypto to Navigate US Sanctions

Iran’s central bank has reportedly relaxed currency regulations to encourage businesses to bring overseas earnings back into the country, including through crypto channels, as US sanctions continue to tighten. According to a report, exporters can now use earnings held abroad to directly finance imports without first converting foreign currency at official government exchange rates.

Crypto Used to Settle Cross-Border Payments

The new flexibility reportedly extends to using Tether’s USDT and Bitcoin to settle international transactions through Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges. Iran’s central bank did not respond to requests for comment on the report.

Sanctions Enforcement Has Intensified This Year

The move comes amid escalating US efforts to disrupt Iran’s use of digital assets. Blockchain analytics firms have previously traced billions of dollars in crypto flows between exchanges and sanctioned Iranian entities, claims that at least one exchange has denied. Earlier this year, the US Treasury sanctioned several Iranian crypto exchanges as part of a broader sanctions campaign, while officials said authorities had seized close to $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets and frozen more than $130 million held in wallets linked to Iran’s central bank.