Iran rial hits record low as U.S. sanctions target bitcoin mining

Iran’s open-market exchange rate reached about 2.02 million rials per dollar on Aug. 24, marking a record low as the U.S. expanded sanctions to include digital assets targeting Iranian bitcoin mining operations linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The U.S. announced the package, named Operation Economic Outcast, on Aug. 19 and added more than 60 entities to the Treasury blacklist. The package designated digital assets as a sanctionable sector for the first time. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the goal is to force state-run Bank Melli to go “shuttered and dark” or lose access to dollars, and he warned that secondary sanctions on trading partners could follow within weeks.

The rial has weakened from roughly 1.53 million per dollar earlier in 2026. The International Monetary Fund projects annual inflation averaging 68.9% in 2026 and expects the economy to contract 5.4%. Prices for staples such as rice and beef have risen as exchange-rate pressure increased.

Iran legalized bitcoin mining in 2019 and offered licensed operators industrial electricity at about $0.004 per kilowatt-hour in return for selling mined coins to the central bank. State-affiliated farms linked to the IRGC are estimated to control about 65% of Iran’s mining capacity. Iran-based miners have represented roughly 3% to 7% of global bitcoin hashrate since 2019, producing coins valued at an estimated $1.35 billion to $3.15 billion at different times.

Iran’s broader crypto ecosystem was valued at about $7.78 billion last year. Research firm Chainalysis estimates IRGC-linked wallet addresses received more than $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Another research firm, Elliptic, found Iran’s central bank had accumulated at least $507 million in USDT to support the rial.

U.S. efforts against Iran’s crypto network have been ongoing. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned local exchanges Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex in June. Nobitex had processed more than half of Iran’s digital-asset inflows and helped the central bank move hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins while enabling some insiders to access international exchanges.

In April, U.S. authorities seized nearly $500 million in Iran-linked crypto assets after a cyberattack that drained more than $90 million from Nobitex in mid-2025. That event prompted Tehran to spread stablecoin flows across multiple blockchains. Analytics firm TRM Labs reported total Iran-related crypto flows fell to about $3.7 billion in 2025 amid hacks, freezes by stablecoin issuers and rising geopolitical risk.

The new sanctions target miners, exchanges and intermediaries that convert stablecoins into hard currency. Bessent’s warning about secondary sanctions signals possible penalties for third countries and firms that continue to enable Iran’s crypto channels. Iran’s mining operations also face risks from the country’s strained power grid, where blackouts or rationing could force mining farms offline.