Iran‘s central bank acquired $507M in USDt to prop up rial: Elliptic

The Central Bank of Iran reportedly stockpiled more than half a billion dollars worth of USDt amid escalating protests and crypto usage in the country.

Blockchain analytics platform Elliptic reported that the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) acquired more than half a billion dollars worth of Tether’s USDt, with indications that the stablecoins were used to prop up the country’s fiat currency.

In a Wednesday report, Elliptic said Iran’s central bank had about $507 million in USDt (USDT), the US dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether. According to the platform, it was likely that the bank used the digital assets to address the collapse of Iran’s rial or settle international trade.

“The CBI’s accumulation of USDT began in earnest during a period of extreme economic volatility,” said Elliptic. “The value of the rial had halved in just eight months, to a record low against the dollar (at the time). Iran’s central bank may have attempted to stem this decline by buying rials with USDT on Nobitex, effectively using cryptoassets to perform open market operations that would usually be conducted with cash reserves.”

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