Chainalysis says Iran’s on-chain ecosystem exceeded $7.78 billion in 2025, accelerating versus the prior year as the rial’s collapse and regional conflict pushed more activity onto public blockchains.
Spikes tied to conflict and politics
In the report, Chainalysis said Iranian activity “shows significant spikes corresponding to major domestic and geopolitical events.”
The firm highlighted a surge after the January 2024 Kerman bombings.
It also pointed to a spike around Iran’s October 2024 missile strikes against Israel.
Chainalysis noted another rise during the June 2025 “12-day war,” which it said coincided with cyberattacks on Iran’s largest exchange, Nobitex, and Bank Sepah.
IRGC share rises to about half
Chainalysis said addresses associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have increased their share of Iran’s on-chain economy over time.
It estimated IRGC-linked activity represented “over 50% of total values received in Q4 of 2025.”
The report added that funds received by IRGC-associated addresses reached over $2 billion in 2024 and “spik[ed] to more than $3 billion in 2025,” while warning those figures are a lower-bound estimate.
Bitcoin withdrawals jump during protests
Chainalysis compared Nov. 1 to Dec. 27, 2025 with Dec. 28, 2025 to Jan. 8, 2026, the period leading into Iran’s blanket internet blackout.
It reported a surge in transfers from Iranian exchanges to personal bitcoin wallets.
Chainalysis wrote:
“Most telling is the surge in withdrawals from Iranian exchanges to unattributed personal Bitcoin (BTC) wallets.”
The report said the shift likely reflects a “flight to safety” amid currency collapse and political instability.
