The telecommunications blackout and the collapse of the national currency are pushing Iranians toward Bitchat and Bitcoin.
Iran’s national currency is experiencing an unprecedented collapse, with the exchange rate reaching approximately 1.4 million rials per U.S. dollar.
The deterioration of the local currency is not a recent phenomenon, but the acceleration observed between 2025 and early 2026 has reached alarming proportions. International sanctions continue to place heavy pressure on the country’s economy, while oil revenues have drastically declined. In this context, citizens and investors are seeking alternatives to the national currency.
Inflation has reached unsustainable levels, officially surpassing 42% at the end of last year, although the real prices of essential goods may have increased even more.
Economic discontent has translated into street protests in several cities, from Tehran to Isfahan and Shiraz. Bazaar merchants and students have demonstrated against poor economic management and political repression. Even in the capital, traditional supporters of the theocratic government have expressed their dissent.
To control the protests, authorities imposed telecommunications blackouts and blocked satellite services such as Starlink. Citizens responded by adopting offline communication tools like Bitchat and Noghteha (a closed-source fork of Bitchat), applications that allow secure messaging via Bluetooth and mesh networks without the need for an internet connection.
As the economic situation worsens, interest in Bitcoin in Iran is growing. Even before the latest collapse, digital asset adoption in the Middle East and North Africa was accelerating, mainly as a hedge against unstable local currencies and restrictive financial systems. According to TRM Labs, between January and July 2025, total cryptocurrency flows linked to Iranian entities amounted to $3.7 billion, down 11% compared to 2024 due to government restrictions, but with persistent outflows from Iranian services for capital flight and inflation hedging.
