The Central Bank of Iran bought R$ 2.6 billion in USDT in 2025

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Central Bank of Iran purchased R$ 2.6 billion in USDT in 2025 Original Link: https://portaldobitcoin.uol.com.br/banco-central-do-ira-comprou-r-26-bilhoes-em-usdt-em-2025/ The Central Bank of Iran acquired US$ 507 million (R$ 2.6 billion) in Tether (USDT) stablecoin in the past year, as part of efforts to strengthen the Iranian rial and settle international trade.

This information is from a research report by Elliptic, a British blockchain intelligence company, which identified a network of cryptocurrency wallets used by the Central Bank of Iran to receive USDT.

Leaked documents obtained by Elliptic indicate that the Central Bank of Iran purchased USDT through two transactions made in April and May of last year, with payments in Emirati dirhams.

In an interview with Decrypt, Elliptic co-founder and chief scientist Tom Robinson explained that the leaked documents detail purchases made through an entity called Modex, which he suggests is a cryptocurrency broker willing to trade with the Iranian government.

“We don’t have visibility into other sources, but it’s likely that other OTC (OTC) brokers are involved,” he said.

Based on clues provided by the leaked documents, Elliptic was able to build a map of the Central Bank of Iran’s wallet network, revealing a “systematic” accumulation of USDT worth at least US$ 507 million.

The blog warns that this latest figure should be considered a “lower bound,” as it excludes wallets that could not be attributed to the central bank with a high degree of certainty.

Elliptic’s research also details how the CBI used the USDT after acquiring it, with most being transferred to Iran’s largest exchange, Nobitex.

However, this changed after June 2025, when pro-Israel hackers drained Nobitex of over US$ 90 million in cryptocurrencies.

Following this attack, Elliptic reports that wallets linked to the CBI sent their USDT to “a blockchain bridge service” that converted the USDT tokens based on TRON to USDT based on Ethereum.

The resulting USDT was then sent to various decentralized exchanges and converted into other digital assets before being transferred to other blockchains and centralized exchanges.

This lasted until the end of 2025, when the US$ 507 million in USDT finally exited wallets linked to the Central Bank of Iran.

“There are no more USDT in the wallets we directly linked to the CBI,” Tom Robinson told Decrypt. “However, the CBI may very well have other wallets we are currently unaware of.”

Stabilizing the rial

Elliptic’s blog also explains why the Iranian central bank may have wanted USDT, suggesting that the main reason was to stabilize the price of the Iranian rial in foreign exchange markets.

As the report states, “the flow of funds to Nobitex indicates a strategy of injecting US dollar liquidity into the local market to support the rial.”

Additionally, Iran likely used its USDT to settle international transactions, as sanctions against the country prevent access to SWIFT and other financial settlement infrastructures.

“Beyond domestic intervention, the Central Bank of Iran also appears to be building a ‘sanctions-proof’ banking mechanism that replicates the utility of international dollar accounts,” the blog states. “By treating USDT as ‘unofficial digital eurodollar accounts,’ the regime creates a parallel financial layer capable of maintaining the value in US dollars outside the reach of US authorities.”

While highlighting Iran’s use of USDT to operate financially despite sanctions, Elliptic also states that the transparency and programmability of stablecoins could, in fact, “allow for even more effective enforcement of sanctions.”

Its blog notes that Tether took action to deactivate wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran in June last year, freezing about US$ 37 million in USDT.

In a statement to Decrypt, Tether said it maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding illicit use of USDT and its other tokens, and works closely with law enforcement agencies worldwide to identify and freeze assets linked to illegal activities.

The company stated: “To date, Tether has cooperated with over 310 law enforcement agencies in 62 countries and frozen more than US$ 3.8 billion in assets related to criminal activity.”