U.S. investigators are examining whether specific cryptocurrency platforms have helped Iranian officials and state-linked actors evade sanctions as crypto activity in Iran surges, a blockchain researcher with direct knowledge of Treasury’s concerns told Reuters.

Iran’s crypto transaction volumes climbed as high as $10 billion last year, according to estimates from TRM Labs and Chainalysis cited by the news agency. TRM Labs put Iran-related activity at around $10 billion, while Chainalysis said Iranian wallets received a record $7.8 billion in 2025, up from $7.4 billion in 2024 and $3.17 billion in 2023, Reuters reported.

Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, said the U.S. Treasury Department is looking at whether crypto platforms enabled state-linked players to move money abroad, access fiat currency, or procure goods in ways that skirt sanctions, according to the report. 

But the pseudonymous nature of crypto wallet addresses complicates efforts to determine who is behind transactions and estimates of the split between state-linked and retail flows vary widely, according to researchers cited in the report. 

Chainalysis estimates that 50% of Iran’s volume last year was linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Reuters said. TRM Labs, by contrast, believes 95% of Iran-linked flows came from retail investors, but has separately identified more than 5,000 addresses it labels as IRGC-linked. The IRGC has moved $3 billion worth of crypto since 2023, according to the company. 

British blockchain research firm Elliptic found that the Central Bank of Iran acquired at least $507 million worth of the stablecoin USDT in 2025 in an effort to bypass the global banking system, according to Reuters, which could not independently verify Elliptic’s findings.

The surge in crypto comes as Iran remains largely cut off from the dollar-based financial system and has experienced a steep devaluation of the rial.

Tom Keatinge of the Royal United Services Institute told Reuters that tighter pressure on Iran can accelerate crypto adoption. 

“The harder one squeezes the Iranian economy, the more one better be ready to deal with the consequences, one of which is the expanding use of crypto,” he said. 

In October, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) disclosed the existence of an Iranian “shadow banking” network believed to have moved roughly $9 billion in 2024. The network relied on a web of front companies and intermediaries to sell sanctioned oil, launder illicit proceeds, and procure banned technology, the bureau said. 

The complicit entities operated largely through the financial hubs of the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Singapore, according to FinCEN, which also said it had uncovered 2,207 transactions totally $500,000 or more that were processed through U.S. correspondent accounts despite sanctions. 

Read more at Reuters