U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran put its '$10bn-class' crypto ecosystem at risk

As U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran continue, analysts warn that the cryptocurrency (digital asset) ecosystem Iran has built could be pushed into crisis.

On the 1st (Korea time), crypto industry outlet CoinDesk reported that “recent military attacks are threatening Iran’s power grid, which could affect the government-led Bitcoin mining industry and stablecoin-based payment rails.” The outlet noted that “the crypto industry is structurally dependent on large-scale power supplies,” adding that “if power infrastructure is hit, Iran’s domestic crypto industry could contract.”

Iran has conducted crypto mining under government authorization since 2019. It is said to have built a system in which it mines Bitcoin using electricity and the central bank buys it. As Western sanctions on Iran have intensified, the Iranian government has used crypto infrastructure for trade settlement and other purposes to bypass dollar payment networks.

According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, as of 2025 Iran’s crypto ecosystem is estimated to be worth about $7.78 billion (around KRW 10 trillion). Iran’s share of global Bitcoin mining is estimated at 2–5%.

In particular, in Q4 2025, more than 50% of the funds in Iran’s crypto ecosystem were analyzed to have flowed into addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Use of stablecoins—crypto assets whose value is pegged to fiat currencies—is also on the rise. According to analytics firm Elliptic, Iran’s central bank held at least $507 million worth of Tether (USDT) in reserves in 2025. The Iranian rial has recently fallen 96% against the U.S. dollar.