As Iran's economic crisis deepens, the phenomenon of citizens rushing into Bitcoin is attracting attention. It is not merely speculation; it is functioning as a survival strategy against currency collapse.

Following the U.S. attack, approximately 700% of funds flowed out of Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, within minutes. According to Chainalysis, within a few hours, domestic cryptocurrency trading volume surged dramatically. In just four days, tens of millions of dollars in funds have flowed out of Iran. Citizens are fleeing from the rapidly losing value of the rial to safer assets.

The collapse of the rial is reflected in the numbers. During the 2015 nuclear agreement, it was 32,000 rials to the dollar, but after sanctions were reimposed in 2018, its value plummeted. Last year’s first half saw it fall below 1 million rials, and at the beginning of this year, it hit a historic low of 1.5 million rials. Within the global financial system centered on the dollar, Iran under sanctions has fallen into a structure where maintaining currency value is impossible.

The Iranian government’s response is full of contradictions. In early 2025, the central bank suddenly cut off all rial payment channels for cryptocurrency exchanges, making it impossible for over 10 million users to purchase with fiat currency. Officially, it was under the pretext of preventing the decline in rial’s value, but in reality, it has failed to stop citizens’ asset outflows. Instead, these regulations have driven citizens into underground trading and more clandestine transaction routes.

According to TRM Labs’ investigation, 95% of Iran-related fund transfers are by small investors. Most of Nobitex’s 11 million customers are ordinary citizens. For them, cryptocurrencies are not just speculative assets but a means of preserving value against soaring prices. By mid-2024, nationwide booms of Telegram’s tap game Hamster Kombat and Notcoin occurred in Iran, with about a quarter of the population participating. Even tapping on a smartphone screen to get free airdrops was a beacon of hope for citizens whose national currency had lost trust.

However, behind this crypto boom lies a deeper injustice: the issue of arbitrage over power resources.

Iran ranks as the world’s 4th largest crypto mining center, but over 95% of active mining equipment operates without permits. According to Tavanir, the power company, mining consumes about 2,000 MW of electricity, equivalent to two units of the Bushehr nuclear power plant. More shockingly, during internet outages caused by conflicts with Israel, nationwide electricity consumption dropped by about 2,400 MW, partly due to the shutdown of 900k illegal mining devices.

What does this arbitrage mean? It’s about profit-seeking through exploiting electricity price differences. The CEO of Tehran’s power distribution company points out that illegal miners are being effectively legalized. In industrial zones managed by mosques and the military, free mining incentives are provided. Religious facilities are legally supplied with electricity at very low or no cost, turning many mosques into underground mines. Large-scale mines are hidden within military-controlled industrial complexes and secret facilities.

In other words, the power elite are using national electricity to mine large amounts of Bitcoin, while ordinary citizens suffering from hyperinflation cannot even access electricity to run fans in the summer. Iran’s electricity crisis and illegal mining are not just security issues—they are a power struggle over auxiliary resources and survival pressures.

This is why Iranian citizens are rushing into cryptocurrencies. Amidst structural crises of sanctions and currency collapse, they desperately want to have full control over their personal assets. And this desire, combined with the reality of resource monopolization by the ruling class, only intensifies further.