The change comes as Iran faces more financial isolation. An executive at a government-linked company told the Financial Times that receiving export payments in crypto has become “completely normalized”.
FT says Tehran loosened FX rules so exporters can bring money home — including via USDT and BTC on local venues.
Skip the official FX window. Use earnings to pay for imports direct. CBI didn’t comment to Cointelegraph.
US already hit Iranian exchanges in June and froze wallets… pic.twitter.com/VodWUooFQc— Jessica Gonzales (@lil_disruptor) September 9, 2026
Why USDT and stablecoins is more suited for international trade than Bitcoin
USDT is better suited to trade payments because its value is designed to track the US dollar. Bitcoin, by comparison, can move several percentage points in a single day, creating a risk for a business that agrees on a price with an overseas buyer and receives payment later.
That difference is important when a company is using crypto as a payment tool rather than as an investment. An exporter that receives $500,000 in USDT can generally expect the token’s dollar value to remain close to $500,000. The same payment received in Bitcoin could be worth considerably more or less by the time the company converts it into another currency.
This also explain why stablecoins have become one of the biggest real-world uses of crypto. They combine the speed and global reach of blockchain transfers with a value linked to a familiar currency. For companies operating in countries where access to dollars through banks is difficult, that can make USDT more useful than a highly volatile cryptocurrency.
Can crypto replace the Iranian banking system?
Iran’s banking system remains connected to the country’s domestic economy, but its ability to connect Iranian businesses with international banks is heavily restricted by U.S. sanctions. That creates a gap that cryptocurrencies can partly fill. A company can receive USDT or Bitcoin from an overseas counterparty without requiring both sides to maintain accounts with banks that can process the transaction.
However, crypto does not remove Iran’s dependence on banks. Iranian businesses still need local banks to hold and convert funds into rials, pay employees, settle domestic transactions and access other financial services. Exporters also need shipping companies, insurers, customs providers and foreign suppliers, many of which remain connected to the conventional financial system.
Iran’s experience therefore points to a narrower role for crypto where digital assets can provide Iranian businesses with an additional route for cross-border payments when access to international banking channels is restricted. They cannot, however, replace the domestic banking infrastructure that handles credit, deposits, payments, foreign-exchange conversion and the wider financial operations of the Iranian economy.
Crypto users debate whether Iran can really use it to bypass financial controls
Another commenter, Dca_ethusiast, focused on the difference between USDT and Bitcoin. He argued that USDT can be frozen by its issuer and is therefore not fully decentralized, while Bitcoin can be used by anyone without a central party deciding whether a transaction should be allowed. Also arguing that crypto could keep economic activity moving during conflicts because users can choose whether to accept payments from particular parties.
