A brand new report has revealed that Iran’s central financial institution is using huge amounts of cryptocurrency issued by the corporate Tether — an issuer of crypto belongings. And guess who routinely sings the praises of Tether and its unregulated monopoly cash? None apart from the UK’s personal Nigel Farage.
The banks acquisition of those digital belongings emerged in a widely-cited new report by Elliptic, a crypto compliance and forensic investigation firm. It claims that greater than $500m of Tether’s digital forex has moved via accounts managed by Iran’s central financial institution.
Elliptic traced ‘stablecoins’ used by the financial institution, whose actions recommend a broader sample of “accumulation”, not simply remoted transfers. In case you don’t communicate wannabe-tech-bro, a stablecoin is a kind of crypto that’s notably simple to trade for actual cash. It’s because it’s pegged to the US greenback.
The inference right here is that via digital belongings, Iran’s highest-ranking monetary establishment is hoping to offset the impact of US sanctions. Nevertheless, Tether insists it has been compliant with US sanctions pointers. Regardless of this, it has been previously investigated by the US Treasury Department.
The crypto investigator speculated that this could be meant to prop up the Iranian rial, or else to commerce, calling the digital hoarding:
a complicated technique to bypass the worldwide banking system.
The digital breadcrumb path
Elliptic’s sleuthing into Iran’s central financial institution started after actions taken final 12 months by Israel’s Ministry of Defence (MoD).
In September 2025, the Israeli MoD announced the seizure of 187 crypto wallets. It claimed they belonged to members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The seizure totalled over $1.5m, which Israel claimed can be:
used for the perpetration of a extreme terror crime.
After the seizure, an Iranian businessman took to social media to complain about his nation’s lack of ability to maintain its dealings underneath wraps. In doing so, his publish reportedly uncovered two account numbers for crypto wallets that he claimed belonged to the Iranian central financial institution.
Satirically, it was this obvious slip-up that tipped off Elliptic on the financial institution’s use of cryptocurrency. Following this path, the investigator concluded with a “excessive stage of confidence” that it had discovered 50 crypto accounts related to the financial institution. These accounts contained $507m (£377m) in Tether’s stablecoin, ‘USDT’.
For context, blockchain forensics companies and regulators have flagged the rising use of dollar-pegged stablecoins for cyber fraud, illicit transactions, and circumventing laws — together with sanctions. With the Iranian rial in free fall, state-aligned actors, particularly the IRGC, have turned their sights to shadow crypto banking to trade the rial for US {dollars}. That mentioned, digital currencies have additionally provided a monetary lifeline for odd Iranians.
Illicit demand
The huge demand for Tether’s stablecoin — USDT — has generated extraordinary real-currency profits. In reality, Tether’s $13bn annual income are greater than these of McDonalds — 1.5-times greater. Furthermore, the corporate makes use of this huge reserve to again its stablecoin, sustaining its price in keeping with the greenback.
Inevitably, a great deal of the demand for USDT reportedly comes from shadowy or illicit sources. That is due to the comparative lack of regulation on digital-only forex, making it a ‘Wild West’ of buying and selling.
Then, add in the truth that UN and US sanctions have made it near-impossible for Iranian nationals to purchase foreign exchange (since they’re minimize off from world banking) — and even holding a checking account. So you may see why Iran’s financial institution is now amassing stablecoin.
The Guardian reported {that a} Tether spokesperson did not reply questions concerning the Iranian financial institution’s use of USDT. Nevertheless, they insisted that the corporate adheres to pointers on US sanctions:
We work carefully with legislation enforcement globally to determine and promptly, upon request, freeze belongings to stop additional motion each time they’re recognized to be in connection to criminal activity or illicit actors.
Consistent with this, Tether did certainly freeze the IRGC accounts that Israel unmasked. However its declare to comply with sanctions pointers known as into query by the truth that the Iranian central financial institution’s accounts nonetheless seem lively.
Farage, Tether and crypto
In the meantime, as Iran was accumulating its crypto riches, Nigel Farage was championing Tether’s cryptocoin within the UK. The Reform leader urged the Bank of England to take a extra optimistic angle towards blockchain-based currencies again in September 2025.
In an interview with LBC Radio forward of his first assembly with the Financial institution of England chief, Farage mentioned:
I’m going to go tomorrow to say this. You already know, Tether is a stablecoin. Stablecoins are the way in which which cash goes from typical currencies via into cryptocurrencies and again once more. Tether is about to be valued as a $500bn firm.
He went on:
You already know, stablecoins, crypto – this world is big, and I’ve been urging for years that London ought to embrace it. We must always turn into a world buying and selling centre for these things, underneath correct regulation.
Farage met with Financial institution of England chief Andrew Bailey to debate the matter, and referred to as the tête-à-tête “encouraging”. Nevertheless, he additionally added that the financial institution was:
transferring a bit too slowly on the matter.
The Reform chief reportedly criticised the Financial institution of England for imposing restrictions on cryptocurrencies. As an alternative, he urged that the UK comply with Trump’s instance within the US by lifting efforts to police crypto. By the by, Trump’s commerce secretary — one Howard Lutnick — simply occurs to be the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a.okay.a. Tether’s financial institution.
‘We stringently vet every donation’
And, as luck would have it, Reform’s greatest donor — Christopher Harbourne — additionally occurs to be a significant shareholder in Tether. Harbourne is a British nationwide and tech investor primarily based out of Thailand. Moreover, he gifted the far-right party £9m last year. That’s the biggest single political donation from a residing particular person in UK historical past.
Reacting to the information of Tether’s recognition with a sanctioned regime, Harbourne’s attorneys referred to as the suggestion that he income from Iran’s use of USDT “baseless drivel”. Likewise, Reform was additionally fast to clean its arms, with a spokesperson stating that Tether is used by:
many firms and organisations throughout the globe […]
All donations to Reform UK adjust to electoral legislation and laws. We stringently vet every donation. We proceed to actively help the Iranian individuals of their battle for freedom.
One could be forgiven for considering that instantly discovering your self in mattress with a regime like Iran would make a celebration assume twice about its help for unregulated currencies. However, after all, you’d be unsuitable.
Grifters like Farage and Reform love crypto exactly as a result of it makes it more durable for authorities to hint the place precisely the cash is coming from. This due to this fact means crypto is more durable to manage. Which, as Elliptic’s report has demonstrated, is exactly why Iran loves USDT too. What a effective pair they make.
Featured picture through the Canary
