Iran's Central Bank to Restrict Domestic Exchange Access Over Tether Trading Concerns
Iran's central bank announced plans to block rial bank accounts and payment gateways used by cryptocurrency exchanges, citing market manipulation concerns related to Tether trading. The action targets major domestic platforms including Nobitex and Wallex and follows temporary trading caps imposed in late September limiting USDT purchases to 2,000 per user daily. The restrictions reflect the government's attempt to control Tether's role as a substitute for U.S. dollars in Iran's sanctioned economy, where USDT serves as a critical financial tool amid international economic isolation.
Iran's central bank has escalated its oversight of cryptocurrency trading by planning to sever the banking connections that domestic exchanges rely on to process rial transactions. This move targets the financial infrastructure enabling users to convert traditional currency into digital assets, building on earlier September measures that capped daily Tether purchases and imposed trading blackout hours. The restrictions follow a pattern of mutual intervention, as Tether has previously frozen hundreds of millions in assets associated with Iranian entities while the government now attempts to control retail access to the stablecoin from its side.
These restrictions could create operational strain for Iranian exchanges already navigating international sanctions, potentially limiting retail investor access to dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies at a time when traditional banking channels remain constrained. The measures may also test Tether's resilience as a financial infrastructure tool in sanctioned economies, illustrating how both issuers and governments can restrict flows at different points. Users could face reduced liquidity and higher barriers to acquiring stablecoins, while the effectiveness of these controls may depend on whether alternative payment methods emerge.