Iran International:

Iranian traders, economists and digital market participants are alarmed by new state curbs on stablecoin holdings, telling Iran International the Central Bank’s decision will choke savings and drive capital offshore amid the historic devaluation of rial.

“Iran’s stablecoin limits will not stop dollar demand — they will only drive it deeper underground,” a Tehran-based economist who did not want to reveal his identity told Iran International.

The Central Bank’s High Council late last month approved a $5,000 annual purchase limit per person and a $10,000 ceiling on total stablecoin holdings.

The rule, announced as the rial plunged to a record low of 1,170,000 per US dollar earlier this month, drew sharp criticism from Iranians using Tether and other digital currencies to protect their assets from geopolitical headwinds.

The slump was triggered by the UN sanctions which resumed late last month after European countries suspicious about Iran's nuclear activities activated the so-called snapback mechanism.

The rial stood slightly below 1,140,000 at the time this report was published.

Even a prominent government official criticized the move.

“A disaster is when policymakers with good intentions, but based on wrong reasons and ignoring evidence, make a decision. The result will be weakening governance, erosion of public trust, a threat to people’s assets and discrediting institutions,” Deputy Minister of Communications Ehsan Chitsaz wrote on X.

Crypto market endangered

Traders contacted by Iran International described the new ceilings as both impractical and punitive. “The government keeps tightening controls because it has no real answer for the collapsing rial,” said Farzad, a 29-year-old trader in Tehran.

“They call it regulation, but it’s just another way to shift the burden onto ordinary people. When markets tumble, traders like us will be trapped — unable to cash out or protect our savings.”

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