Will Stroud

IRAN’S $7.8B CRYPTO MACHINE EXPOSED Iran isn’t just experimenting with crypto -- it has quietly built a $7.8B parallel financial system to work around sanctions and the dollar. Here’s the reality. Back in 2019, Iran legalized #Bitcoin mining and gave licensed operators access to subsidized electricity. The deal was simple: mine BTC cheaply, then sell it to the central bank, which can use it to settle trade outside the traditional banking system. At times, Iran has accounted for an estimated 2-5% of global hash power. That’s not small. Chainalysis data also shows wallets linked to the IRGC drove over $3B in inflows during 2025, highlighting how deeply crypto is now embedded in the country’s financial plumbing. Meanwhile, everyday Iranians are using $BTC and stablecoins for a very different reason -- survival. With the rial down more than 96% vs the dollar, crypto has become a financial lifeline during economic stress and unrest. ⚠️ The new wildcard is geopolitical. Recent military strikes are putting Iran’s power grid at risk -- and large-scale mining depends heavily on cheap, stable energy. If infrastructure takes sustained damage, Iran’s hash contribution could dip in the short term. But zoom out -- Bitcoin doesn’t rely on any single country. If Iran’s miners go offline, the network simply adjusts and hash moves elsewhere. The real takeaway is that crypto is no longer just an investment narrative. In parts of the world, it’s already functioning as parallel financial infrastructure — and that shift is accelerating. 📸 Francisco Rodrigues