Iran eases currency rules to bypass US sanctions with crypto: Report

Iran's central bank has reportedly relaxed rules governing foreign currency held abroad so businesses will be more inclined to repatriate earnings, according to the Financial Times. The changes are said to open the door for settlings of cross-border transactions through domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, with Tether's USDt and Bitcoin specifically cited as usable instruments. Under the new arrangements described in the report, exporters would be able to apply foreign currency receipts directly toward import payments rather than first converting those funds through the government's official exchange platform at prescribed rates. The shift would therefore allow commercial counterparties to bypass the state exchange as an obligatory intermediate step. The reported policy update comes amid heightened scrutiny of Iran-linked crypto flows. In June, blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs said more than $3.8 billion moved between exchange CoinEx and sanctioned Iranian entities over a period exceeding seven years; CoinEx has rejected having commercial ties to Iran's government or domestic exchanges and denied providing funding channels to sanctioned parties. Around the same time, U.S. authorities sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges under the Treasury's "Economic Fury" campaign and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said about $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets had been seized. U.S. officials continued enforcement actions into July: on July 14 Bessent said authorities had ordered a freeze of more than $130 million in crypto held in wallets linked to Iran's central bank. Cointelegraph reported the Financial Times account and noted the Central Bank of Iran did not respond to requests for comment.