- US dollar–pegged stablecoins are widely used in Iran and Venezuela as a hedge against inflation and banking distrust.
- Authorities and firms have taken steps to limit or control stablecoin use amid protests and sanctions.
- Blockchain analysis alleges over $1 billion in stablecoin transfers tied to Iran’s IRGC via two UK-registered companies.
- Tether has frozen and blacklisted billions of dollars in funds between 2023 and late 2025 to counter illicit use.
- State actors and commercial firms in Venezuela reportedly accept large shares of oil revenue in USDT.
Protests and economic turmoil in Iran and Venezuela in early 2026 have increased reliance on US dollar–backed stablecoins as citizens seek to preserve value and move funds. In Iran, widespread demonstrations and an internet cutoff coincided with a plunging rial and heavy arrests, and many turned to stablecoins to hedge currency risk, according to a news report. A video of the unrest circulated online.
Blockchain data shows Tron-based Tether (USDT) is widely used in Iran as a value store, per a TRM Labs study. The Iranian government set an annual stablecoin limit of $10,000 and a $5,000 per-purchase cap, as reported by Iran International.
A separate TRM Labs report alleges that since 2023 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) moved more than $1 billion in stablecoins through two UK-registered firms, Zedcex and Zedxion, and named financier Babak Zanjani as linked to the network. TRM Labs said, “In practice, they operate as a single enterprise embedded within a broader Iranian sanctions evasion ecosystem, moving value across borders, currencies, and jurisdictions on behalf of one of the world’s most heavily sanctioned military organizations.” The report added, “A key figure in this network is Babak Zanjani, a longtime Iranian sanctions-evasion financier previously sanctioned for laundering billions in oil revenue on behalf of regime entities, including the IRGC.”
In Venezuela, residents and businesses use USDT for daily payments and to avoid banks, with entrepreneur Mauricio Di Bartolomeo saying, “It’s how you pay your landscaper and how you pay for your haircut. You can use tether basically for anything.” The state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela reportedly accepts most oil revenue in USDT and is estimated to take about 80% of payments in the stablecoin.
To counter sanctioned use, Tether has frozen and blacklisted funds. Data compiled by AMLBot shows roughly $3.3 billion frozen or blacklisted from 2023 through late 2025, including $1.75 billion in Tron-based USDT, and an additional $182 million freeze was reported over a recent weekend.
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