Iran’s Central Bank Bought $507M in USDT to Support the Rial; Funds Moved After Nobitex Hack
Elliptic reports Iran’s Central Bank (CBI) purchased about $507 million in Tether USDT during a sharp rial depreciation and domestic unrest. The CBI used USDT on local exchange Nobitex to buy rials in open‑market operations that would normally use foreign‑currency reserves. After a June 2025 Nobitex security breach (~$90M stolen and burned), CBI‑linked flows shifted: funds were routed from TRON to Ethereum via cross‑chain bridges, swapped on DEXs and other venues, and dispersed across chains and centralized exchanges through late 2025. Elliptic traced multiple TRON and Ethereum wallets to the CBI using leaked purchase records and on‑chain analysis. The report notes Tether’s issuer control — roughly $37 million of USDT tied to the CBI was reportedly frozen in June 2025 — underscoring that stablecoin holdings are sanctionable and freezeable. Chainalysis data cited in the report shows Iranian crypto activity surged to over $7.8 billion in 2025 as citizens used crypto to hedge inflation and unrest. Key takeaways for traders: the use of USDT by a central bank demonstrates stablecoins’ growing role in sovereign liquidity operations, increases the risk that issuer freezes or sanctions can remove liquidity suddenly, and creates elevated on‑chain flow and exchange activity that may drive volatility in USDT‑corridor pairs and local fiat ramps.
Neutral
The news is neutral for USDT price direction. On one hand, large sovereign accumulation of USDT signals strong demand for the stablecoin as a dollar proxy, which supports sustained usage and liquidity for USDT corridors (a bullish sign for depth and demand). On the other hand, the report highlights issuer controls and sanctions/freeze actions (roughly $37M frozen) and operational risks (exchange hack, cross‑chain movements), which can abruptly remove liquidity or increase counterparty risk and prompt market dislocations (a bearish pressure on confidence). For traders: short term, expect heightened volatility in USDT pairs and local fiat rails where Iranian flows intersect central limit order books and OTC markets; freeze actions or sudden on‑chain movements can create temporary spreads, liquidity gaps, and basis moves. Longer term, USDT’s dominant market position and fungibility make it likely to remain a primary dollar surrogate, but repeated sanction or freeze events increase regulatory and custodial risk premiums that could modestly pressure trust‑sensitive venues. Overall, bullish demand factors are balanced by freeze/control risks — net effect is neutral on USDT price but material for liquidity, spreads, and local-market volatility.