When a country starts accepting cryptocurrency payments for weapon orders,Cryptocurrencies are no longer just a matter of "financial innovation" or "gray tools"; they have been formally integrated into the national survival and international strategic framework.
In January 2026, Iran's Defense Ministry Export Center, Mindex, clearly stated in official documents that its overseas military contracts can be paid for using cryptocurrency, barter trade, or Iranian rials.
Arms trade has always been one of the most sanctioned, most regulated, and most sensitive cross-border transaction scenarios. The fact that Iran has chosen to explicitly include cryptocurrency as a payment option in this area means one thing:Cryptocurrencies are being systematically used by Iran as a "sanctions-busting financial tool."
Reality Constraint Driven
In recent years, Iran has consistently been under the constraints of three highly realistic factors:
- The local currency, the rial, has been depreciating for a long time, and the foreign exchange system is fragile.
- The international banking system has been basically severed.
- Energy exports and military trade continue to face settlement and delivery risks.
Against this backdrop, in 2025, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf publicly stated that Iran would not be able to achieve its national goal of having the digital economy account for 10% of GDP without embracing cryptocurrencies. He also called for the urgent development of a national roadmap for crypto assets.
This is not technological idealism; it is a clear-headed assessment formed under the reality of long-term sanctions ——Without encryption, many economic objectives would be impossible to implement.
The fourth largest mining center in the world
In practical terms, Iran's reliance on crypto assets is far more significant than its public statements suggest.
On one hand, Iran has become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency mining center globally. Thanks to substantial electricity subsidies, even with rampant illegal mining, it has generated significant computing power and accumulated considerable cryptocurrency assets.
On the other hand, crypto assets have also been deeply integrated into more sensitive areas. Israel's National Anti-Terrorist Financing Authority has disclosed that addresses associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have cumulatively received approximately $1.5 billion worth of USDT.
Although some of these addresses may belong to exchanges or shared services, the scale itself is sufficient to indicate that:Stablecoins are becoming an important source of liquidity for Iran to bypass sanctions.
"Fireflies" in the Darkness
In January 2026, Iran imposed a nationwide internet shutdown due to protest activities and a currency crisis. This was originally intended to be a "fatal blow" to cryptocurrency transactions, but the outcome was unexpectedly different.
In an offline environment, various offline or weak-network solutions are quickly discussed and deployed:
- Starlink satellite network
- Blockstream's satellite network supports broadcasting Bitcoin data globally.
- Bluetooth Mesh Communication Tool Bitchat
- Darkwire: Internet-Free Bitcoin Transfer Solution
- Machankura, which supports sending and receiving Bitcoin through telecom networks.
These solutions are not yet mature and cannot replace the internet on a large scale, but in such extreme conditions, the cryptocurrency industry has demonstrated its remarkable resilience.When both traditional communication and financial systems fail simultaneously, cryptographic assets will be regarded as "the last channel still worth trying."
The Era of "Strategic Tools"
Iran's experience is a microcosm of a nation's struggle for survival under extreme sanctions.
It demonstrates the unique value of cryptocurrencies in geopolitics: bypassing the traditional financial system to enable value transfer and access to strategic resources.
Russia's oil trade, Venezuela's "shadow Bitcoin reserves," and now Iran's weapons deals all point to an undeniable reality:Cryptocurrencies are evolving from "financial tools" into "geostrategic instruments," becoming a new medium that connects national strategies with the global economy.
*The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. The market carries risks; investments should be made with caution.