Tehran’s winter unrest and a plunging rial have put a stark spotlight on one controversial escape route: Bitcoin mining — now under attack by the state. On December 29, as shutters came down across the Grand Bazaar and protesters clashed with security forces, the Iranian rial hit a fresh low of roughly 1.42 million per U.S. dollar. The collapse — part of a decades-long slide that accelerated after June 2025 — has erased large swaths of household savings; since that June conflict with Israel, the currency has lost more than 40% of its value. The crisis has spilled over into Iran’s banking sector: Bank Melli, the country’s largest bank with about 42 million customers, has shown signs of instability after taking on a failed lender, and the central bank governor resigned this week as the currency plunged to new lows. With local currency options failing, many Iranians have turned to cryptocurrency as a practical hedge. Iran’s unusually cheap electricity makes mining Bitcoin particularly economical: estimates put the cost to mine one BTC at around $1,300 — a fraction of Bitcoin’s market price (near $87,600 at the time of reporting). For ordinary citizens, mining and holding BTC can convert rapidly collapsing local savings into “hard,” internationally recognized value. “Economic mismanagement — the story of the past, present, and future. Bitcoin is a new way for the people to protect themselves,” said Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, summing up why some view crypto as an emergency refuge when fiat fails. That very lifeline, however, is being constrained. Iranian authorities have increasingly treated mining as illegal or subject to heavy restrictions, effectively narrowing a crucial escape valve for citizens trying to preserve wealth outside a failing monetary system. Beyond Iran’s borders, the crypto market has endured a difficult 2025. Bitcoin saw a “red year” — its first since the 2022 downturn — characterized by geopolitical friction with China, U.S. tariff-related tensions, and a liquidity squeeze. Looking ahead to 2026, some analysts point to two offsetting forces: lower new-BTC issuance following the halving cycle, and mounting institutional demand from ETFs and potential sovereign allocations. If those macro drivers persist, bullish price scenarios place Bitcoin in a range of roughly $170,000 to $250,000 next year — though those outcomes depend on many uncertain global variables. For Iranians, Bitcoin today is an urgent, practical recourse against a bankrupt banking system. For global investors, it remains a strategic hedge against repeating cycles of fiat debasement. Whether it fulfills either role will hinge on policy choices at home and macroeconomic flows abroad — and on whether governments, including Iran’s, continue to criminalize the very channels people use to protect their savings. Disclaimer: AMBCrypto's content is informational and not investment advice. Trading, buying or selling cryptocurrencies is high-risk; readers should do their own research before making decisions. © 2025 AMBCrypto Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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