Bitcoin Gets the Headlines, But Iran’s IRGC Runs on Something Else: Chainalysis

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps controls “an overwhelmingly large share” of Iran’s entire crypto economy, according to Kaitlin Martin, Senior Intelligence Analyst at Chainalysis.

The newly reported Strait of Hormuz toll system appears to mark the latest expansion of Iran’s broader crypto integration efforts. Yet, behind Iran’s expanding footprint, stablecoins, not Bitcoin (BTC), appear to be doing most of the heavy lifting.

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A Military Wing Becomes A Crypto Powerhouse

In an interview with BeInCrypto, Martin said Iran has developed a “vibrant” cryptocurrency economy as a result of sweeping international sanctions that have limited access to major global exchanges.

She said that domestic Iranian crypto exchanges have seen significant growth and high trading volumes in recent years. While cryptocurrency adoption continues to expand across Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains the dominant force in the country’s digital asset economy. 

Martin noted the IRGC accounted for nearly 50% of Iran’s total crypto activity in the fourth quarter of 2025.

“The IRGC is taking over an overwhelmingly large share of that cryptocurrency activity as a whole,” she said.

Still, Martin emphasized that the headline number understates the picture. The $3 billion figure for 2025 is a lower-bound estimate based solely on publicly available data.

“Again we are really seeing nation states begin to integrate crypto into their financial instruments into their financial rails layer it with their you know traditional financial movements of funds. So you know it’s not really surprising to me as I’m tracking this activity to see such high volumes being used by the regime um in comparison to the crypto economy as a whole in Iran,” she told BeInCrypto.

Stablecoins Emerge as Iran’s Preferred Crypto Rail

As Iran’s crypto economy grows, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps appears to be leaning heavily on stablecoins. Martin highlighted that sanctions records and seizure orders provide extensive insight into how Iran uses crypto. 

She noted that the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned multiple wallets linked to IRGC-linked actors. At the same time, the National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing of Israel has seized more than 100 related wallets, all of which used stablecoins.

Martin said regulatory filings also show Iran using stablecoins for trade and procurement at scale. 

“We do know in fact that the Iranian regime is using stable coins,” she mentioned.

Although issuers can freeze such assets, she explained that their dollar peg and ability to facilitate rapid cross-border payments make them attractive for a heavily sanctioned economy with limited access to global dollar liquidity.

“I think that there is a place for Bitcoin in its use by regime actors as well as ordinary Iranians. But when we’re talking about a potential toll being collected, when we’re talking about trade being conducted at scale, stablecoins offer an attractive option,” Martin commented.

What To Watch

The IRGC’s tracked footprint grew from $2 billion to $3 billion in a single year. With the Hormuz toll now reportedly operational, that trajectory may accelerate.

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The structural question is sharper. When a sanctioned paramilitary group becomes a dominant player in a national crypto economy and starts pricing its own access to global trade routes in Bitcoin, the line between the military and a financial institution blurs.