A new report has revealed that Iran’s central bank is using huge amounts of cryptocurrency issued by the company Tether — an issuer of crypto assets. And guess who routinely sings the praises of Tether and its unregulated monopoly money? None other than the UK’s own Nigel Farage.
The banks acquisition of these digital assets emerged in a widely-cited new report by Elliptic, a crypto compliance and forensic investigation firm. It claims that more than $500m of Tether’s digital currency has moved through accounts controlled by Iran’s central bank.
Elliptic traced ‘stablecoins’ used by the bank, whose movements suggest a broader pattern of “accumulation”, not just isolated transfers. In case you don’t speak wannabe-tech-bro, a stablecoin is a type of crypto that is particularly easy to exchange for real money. This is because it’s pegged to the US dollar.
The inference here is that through digital assets, Iran’s highest-ranking financial institution is hoping to offset the impact of US sanctions. However, Tether insists it has been compliant with US sanctions guidelines. Despite this, it has been previously investigated by the US Treasury Department.
The crypto investigator speculated that this might be intended to prop up the Iranian rial, or else to trade, calling the digital hoarding:
a sophisticated strategy to bypass the global banking system.
The digital breadcrumb trail
Elliptic’s sleuthing into Iran’s central bank began after actions taken last year by Israel’s Ministry of Defence (MoD).
In September 2025, the Israeli MoD announced the seizure of 187 crypto wallets. It claimed they belonged to members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The seizure totalled over $1.5m, which Israel claimed would be:
used for the perpetration of a severe terror crime.
After the seizure, an Iranian businessman took to social media to complain about his country’s inability to keep its dealings under wraps. In doing so, his post reportedly exposed two account numbers for crypto wallets that he claimed belonged to the Iranian central bank.
Ironically, it was this apparent slip-up that tipped off Elliptic on the bank’s use of cryptocurrency. Following this trail, the investigator concluded with a “high level of confidence” that it had found 50 crypto accounts connected to the bank. Those accounts contained $507m (£377m) in Tether’s stablecoin, ‘USDT’.
For context, blockchain forensics firms and regulators have flagged the growing use of dollar-pegged stablecoins for cyber fraud, illicit transactions, and circumventing regulations — including sanctions. With the Iranian rial in free fall, state-aligned actors, namely the IRGC, have turned their sights to shadow crypto banking to exchange the rial for US dollars. That said, digital currencies have also offered a financial lifeline for ordinary Iranians.
Illicit demand
The massive demand for Tether’s stablecoin — USDT — has generated extraordinary real-currency profits. In fact, Tether’s $13bn annual profits are higher than those of McDonalds — 1.5-times higher. Moreover, the company uses this vast reserve to back its stablecoin, maintaining its worth in line with the dollar.
Inevitably, a good deal of the demand for USDT reportedly comes from shadowy or illicit sources. This is because of the comparative lack of regulation on digital-only currency, making it a ‘Wild West’ of trading.
Then, add in the fact that UN and US sanctions have made it near-impossible for Iranian nationals to buy foreign currencies (since they’re cut off from global banking) — or even holding a bank account. So you can see why Iran’s bank is now amassing stablecoin.
The Guardian reported that a Tether spokesperson failed to answer questions about the Iranian bank’s use of USDT. However, they insisted that the company adheres to guidelines on US sanctions:
We work closely with law enforcement globally to identify and promptly, upon request, freeze assets to prevent further movement whenever they are identified to be in connection to illegal activity or illicit actors.
In line with this, Tether did indeed freeze the IRGC accounts that Israel unmasked. But its claim to follow sanctions guidelines is called into question by the fact that the Iranian central bank’s accounts still appear active.
Farage, Tether and crypto
Meanwhile, as Iran was accumulating its crypto riches, Nigel Farage was championing Tether’s cryptocoin in the UK. The Reform leader urged the Bank of England to take a more positive attitude toward blockchain-based currencies back in September 2025.
In an interview with LBC Radio ahead of his first meeting with the Bank of England chief, Farage said:
I’m going to go tomorrow to say this. You know, Tether is a stablecoin. Stablecoins are the way which money goes from conventional currencies through into cryptocurrencies and back again. Tether is about to be valued as a $500bn company.
He went on:
You know, stablecoins, crypto – this world is enormous, and I’ve been urging for years that London should embrace it. We should become a global trading centre for this stuff, under proper regulation.
Farage met with Bank of England leader Andrew Bailey to discuss the matter, and called the tête-à-tête “encouraging”. However, he also added that the bank was:
moving a little too slowly on the matter.
The Reform leader reportedly criticised the Bank of England for imposing restrictions on cryptocurrencies. Instead, he urged that the UK follow Trump’s example in the US by lifting efforts to police crypto. By the by, Trump’s commerce secretary — one Howard Lutnick — just happens to be the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a.k.a. Tether’s bank.
‘We stringently vet each donation’
And, as luck would have it, Reform’s biggest donor — Christopher Harbourne — also happens to be a major shareholder in Tether. Harbourne is a British national and tech investor based out of Thailand. Furthermore, he gifted the far-right party £9m last year. That’s the largest single political donation from a living person in UK history.
Reacting to the news of Tether’s popularity with a sanctioned regime, Harbourne’s lawyers called the suggestion that he profits from Iran’s use of USDT “baseless drivel”. Likewise, Reform was also quick to wash its hands, with a spokesperson stating that Tether is used by:
many companies and organisations across the globe […]
All donations to Reform UK comply with electoral law and regulations. We stringently vet each donation. We continue to actively support the Iranian people in their fight for freedom.
One might be forgiven for thinking that suddenly finding yourself in bed with a regime like Iran would make a party think twice about its support for unregulated currencies. But, of course, you’d be wrong.
Grifters like Farage and Reform love crypto precisely because it makes it harder for authorities to trace where exactly the money is coming from. This therefore means crypto is harder to regulate. Which, as Elliptic’s report has demonstrated, is precisely why Iran loves USDT too. What a fine pair they make.
Featured image via the Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.