The Central Bank of Iran has reportedly accumulated over $507 million in Tether’s USDT as protests erupt and cryptocurrency usage surges in the nation.

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic disclosed in a recent report that the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has stockpiled a substantial amount of Tether’s USDT, aimed at bolstering the declining value of the rial. Following this trend, it suggests that these digital assets were likely used to stabilize the country’s fiat currency.

In their findings, Elliptic noted that this acquisition of USDT was a response to extreme economic volatility, with the rial losing half its value within eight months. This strategic move by the CBI might have been intended to counteract this decline by purchasing rials through USDT on the Nobitex exchange, a method typically reserved for cash reserves in standard banking operations.

News Source: Elliptic

The platform also highlighted that Tether possesses the ability to freeze USDT accounts— a feature evidenced by a past incident in June 2025, where several wallets tied to the CBI were blacklisted, resulting in approximately $37 million being frozen.

Surge in Digital Asset Usage Amidst Political Turmoil

According to Chainalysis, Iran’s crypto ecosystem saw an increase to over $7.8 billion in 2025, as residents turned to digital currencies like Bitcoin as a safe haven against rising inflation and economic instability.