Iran's Central Bank Acquired $507M in USDT to Bypass Sanctions: Elliptic - CBI

Iran’s Central Bank (CBI) acquired $507 million in Tether’s USDT stablecoin over the past year to stabilize the rial and facilitate international trade amid sanctions, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. Leaked documents reveal the CBI made two major purchases via a Dubai-based crypto broker, Modex, paying in UAE dirhams in April and May 2025. Elliptic traced a network of wallets linked to the CBI, showing systematic accumulation and use of USDT—mostly routed through Nobitex, Iran’s largest exchange, until a June 2025 hack drained over $90 million. Afterward, CBI-linked wallets shifted strategy, using cross-chain bridges to convert TRON-based USDT to Ethereum, then moving funds through decentralized and centralized exchanges. By late 2025, all traceable USDT had left CBI-associated wallets. Elliptic suggests the central bank treated USDT as “digital off-book eurodollar accounts” to create a shadow financial system bypassing U.S. oversight. However, Tether froze approximately $37 million in CBI-linked wallets in June 2025, part of its broader enforcement actions that have frozen over $3.8 billion globally.