Iran's Inflation And Insecurity - Another Bitcoin Case Study

Hello and welcome. For starters, this write-up will portray the current events in Iran as a special case study for the appeal of Bitcoin (BTC). So, if you don’t want to hear another person talk about BTC, you’re more than welcome to go about enjoying your beautiful day. Since you’ve chosen to read on, I want to state that I’ve spoken a lot about BTC and will use this piece to perform a sort of data visualization of BTC trends emerging from Iran as the government shuts down the internet amidst nationwide protests.

Iran has been struggling for a while. I had a classmate back in 2018 who was from Iran, and we would often talk about geopolitics and the country as a whole. At that time, their currency was faring poorly against the US dollar, and as I write today, the Iranian Rial (their domestic currency) has no value. Read that again, it’s not a typo. The Rial has no value, meaning you can’t exchange it for anything because nobody wants it. What happened? Who is behind this? A host of questions you may have about such a reality are beyond this post. What we’re going to look at instead is mass human behavior in the face of such a reality, behavior centered around survival and the search for value.

Meanwhile, valuable human lives are being lost, but those lucky enough to still be breathing are chasing another form of value: Bitcoin or crypto in the form of stablecoins. Why would you hold onto the Rial when no one wants it? You want to hold something that can help you buy even water and food. Of course, other currencies are in circulation in the country, but they’re not common, nor are they easily salable, since not everyone knows or accepts them. Think about it: if you were used to using the US dollar and suddenly someone started giving you Mexican Pesos while in the US, you’d definitely not want them.

This brings us to Bitcoin. BTC has long been acclaimed as a kind of digital gold. It exists in the digital space and shares economic properties with gold: scarcity, universal acceptance, high demand, an inflation hedge, and the ability to maintain value. You can challenge me on that last point, since BTC is very volatile. Regardless, it has attributes that gold doesn’t. With all the turmoil in Iran, citizens need a reliable alternative to the Rial. Gold is perfect in theory, but it’s heavy, shiny, and requires significant physical security. Do you really want to carry gold around when someone could easily assault you? I don’t think so. So gold is out of the question; though those who can bury themselves somewhere and hide out until the chaos passes could certainly dig holes in their basements and store gold.

                                    Bitcoin search score in response to food inflation in Iran, courtesy of Gemini

The chart you see isn’t fully indicative of inflation levels in Iran, since I didn’t transform the data. But below, you can see the table and appreciate how crazy the numbers have become. Food is so expensive that you need millions of Iranian Rials to buy just an apple. Can you fathom needing more than a million dollars to buy an apple? Crazy, isn’t it?

As of today, January 14, 2026, food inflation stands at a whopping 165%. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by Iranians; they feel it to the core. From BTC search scores, you can see that Iranians have gone rogue, searching for value elsewhere. The internet, as the continent of the digital space, has delivered what they need: Bitcoin. It’s also worth pointing out the column with Crypto Flow, showing the value of Bitcoin and other crypto flowing through exchanges in Iran—millions of dollars. That’s staggering. The numbers are even more staggering when you look back in time, because besides Iranians using crypto as a means of survival, their government has been using it to bypass sanctions imposed on them.

              Bitcoin response to Iranian events courtesy; Gemeni

Iran is in hyperinflation territory as I write. Don’t get me wrong for giving a shout-out to BTC here, but I must admit it’s in a world of its own when it comes to value proposition. Broader crypto flows might warrant turning down my BTC praises, but before you make that case, read this: all other crypto flows are into stablecoins. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar, moving 1:1 with it. To maintain that peg, they buy US government debt/treasuries. This completely discredits them as decentralized money. Why? Because we’ve seen companies like Tether, which issues USDT, weaponized against Venezuela. In short, when things are collapsing into chaos, you want to be as free from government control as possible. No one can weaponize Bitcoin against you, and if they tried, its value would likely increase.

Iranians have had to depend on Starlink internet service to communicate. I know what it’s like to be under an internet shutdown because I experienced one back in 2016–2017. I can’t imagine what it’s like for those who depend on it to pay their bills. Bitcoin transactions can stall without internet, but at least no one can take them from you, unlike gold. Bitcoin is its own economy and space, allowing you to exchange value without ever needing fiat. This space will only continue to expand as the world increasingly digitizes with evolving technology like AI.

Look, I’m not pitching BTC; it needs no one to pitch it. When you begin to ask questions, you’ll find your way to it. Even if you don’t ask, life events will bring you to it, as in Iran. I don’t wish for these things, but if another 2008 financial crisis or world war were to happen, the masses would get a crash course on Bitcoin. Until then, I hope you ask questions and let your inquisitive mind not tragedy lead you to it.

That’s it, it’s off my chest. Pray for Iran! And to my friend and Iranian brother, Danial: your country will be okay. For all things shall pass away, and no condition is permanent, says the Lord.