48 Hours to Transfer $1.5 Billion: How Iran's Top Officials Use Cryptocurrency to Bypass US Sanctions

Author: Eric, Foresight News

Original Title: Is Iran's Card Against Trump Using Cryptocurrency to Evade Sanctions?

On January 15th, Beijing time, Israeli news media Channel 14 reported that intelligence shows that senior Iranian officials transferred 1.5 billion USD out of the country via cryptocurrency within 48 hours, with only the son of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei transferring 328 million USD through cryptocurrency to Dubai.

Recently, Iran has been facing internal and external difficulties. After “cleaning up” Venezuela, Trump has set his sights on Iran. Although Trump has recently hinted at suspending attacks on Iran, according to Axios, citing five sources familiar with the situation from the US, Israel, and Arab countries, President Trump is delaying a decision on military strikes against Iran. The White House is currently consulting internally and with allies on the timing of action and whether it would be sufficient to substantially shake the Iranian regime.

Under external military threats, Iran is also in chaos domestically. Starting from December 28, 2025, large-scale protests erupted across Iran. According to data from the U.S. War Research Institute, over 150 protests occurred on January 8 alone, covering 27 provinces, with some areas experiencing armed conflicts and minority armed groups attacking IRGC bases.

Economically, the Iranian Rial collapsed against the US dollar, dropping to about 1.34-1.40 million Rials per USD. Inflation soared, with food prices rising by 60-70%. Coupled with rising fuel prices and long-term sanctions, the livelihood of Iranians is nearly collapsing.

In fact, from the public to government leaders, Iran's use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions and transfer assets is not a temporary uprising but has been ongoing since 2018. After the establishment of domestic cryptocurrency exchanges like Nobitex, Iran's national level, regime officials, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions and access international markets. Additionally, Iran leverages its surplus oil and energy resources to power Bitcoin mining, converting energy into crypto assets.

Iran street advertisements related to cryptocurrencies

According to a report by The Washington Post a week ago, the IRGC transferred about 1 billion USD worth of cryptocurrencies between 2023 and 2025 through two exchanges registered in the UK. Using Zedcex and Zedxion operated by the same entity, the IRGC successfully bypassed Western financial restrictions, with transactions related to the IRGC accounting for 56% of the trading volume on both exchanges. Former US Treasury official Miad Maleki, who participated in Iran sanctions work, stated that digital currencies are becoming a financial channel for Iran's shadow banking system.

Meanwhile, private cryptocurrency exchange and remittance activities among Iranian civilians are gradually increasing. According to a field survey by Foresight News in 2025, there is a black market about one kilometer long in Iran where many citizens choose to conduct private currency exchange transactions.

Cryptocurrency exchange for Iranian Rial in the black market

With recent large-scale capital transfers by Iranian officials abroad, some privacy-focused tokens in the crypto market have experienced astonishing surges. XMR hit a record high of around $800. DASH increased by over 120% in the past 7 days, DCR rose nearly 70%, and tokens like ZEN, FHE, ARRR all saw significant increases.

Although there is no clear evidence directly linking the rise of privacy tokens to the escape of funds by Iranian officials, the coinciding timing warrants industry attention. Currently, cryptocurrencies have become financial tools for many countries and organizations. Ongoing international turmoil may continue to influence the crypto market's trends for a considerable period in the future.