Crypto Comes to the Rescue in Iran

A traveler from Australia found himself in a tricky spot when he arrived in Tehran. The issue wasn't the culture or the food. It was money. The local currency, the rial, is in a tough spot. It's lost a lot of value because of U. S. sanctions. These sanctions make it hard for Iran to use regular banking systems like SWIFT. This means no Visa or Mastercard either. So, what's a traveler to do? Bring a lot of cash. But even that's not straightforward. The exchange rate on the street is way different from what you see online. Scammers might try to take advantage of this. Locals have a trick to make sense of the crazy numbers. They use \"toons, \" which is like removing zeros from the rial. But for visitors, it's still a confusing mess. Now, here's where things get interesting. Crypto is stepping in to help. Bitcoin is becoming a lifeline for many Iranians. It's a way to bypass the broken banking system. For travelers, it's a handy tool. But for locals, it's a necessity. They use it to save their money and send it out of the country. In 2024, $4. 2 billion in crypto moved out of Iran. That's a big jump from the year before. The rial has lost about 90% of its value since 2018. That's when the U. S. pulled out of the nuclear deal. So, it's no surprise that people are turning to digital assets. They're a way to keep savings safe and move money around. It's a tough situation, but crypto is making a difference.