Reports have revealed that Iran’s national arms export arm, the Ministry of Defense Export Center (Mindex), is openly offering to accept cryptocurrency as payment for military hardware.
According to the Financial Times and subsequent media coverage, listings on Mindex’s export platform include items ranging from drones and air defense systems to warships and ballistic missiles. The move was reported in January 2026 and marks a clear shift from past, more discreet uses of digital assets.
Accept crypto and barter to avoid banking limits
Based on reports, Mindex published offers mentioning cryptocurrency, Iranian rial, and barter as possible payment methods. The ads encourage potential buyers to contact Iranian authorities to negotiate contracts.
Sanctions from the US, UK and EU have closed many conventional payment channels, and Iranian authorities appear to be using multiple channels, crypto among them, to advance export deals.
Listings include a wide range of hardware
The Midex catalog, as described by several media outlets, lists equipment across a broad spectrum: small arms and munitions, drones, missiles, air defense systems and warships.
Reports indicate that Midex claims business ties with around 35 countries. This figure shows how well Iranian exporters claim to serve, even when faced with banking isolation.
How crypto fits into Iranian cash flow
According to authorities outside Iran, the country has already used cryptocurrency to move value across borders. U.S. Treasury findings previously linked more than $100 million in crypto flows to Iranian oil-related activities that circumvented sanctions.
Observers warn that the acceptance of cryptocurrencies for weapons could make it more difficult to track payments, depending on the coins and custody arrangements used. Some analysts say public listings could attract buyers who already avoid SWIFT and traditional banking services.
Governments and sanctions experts have sounded the alarm. If deliveries occur after crypto payments are received, law enforcement agencies will face new tracing challenges.
The United States has a history of sanctioning networks that have used crypto to support Iranian programs, and officials have indicated they will closely monitor new tactics. Some countries may consider stricter rules on crypto services used in cross-border defense deals.
Based on reports, the export agency presents the offers as open for negotiation and asserts that the sanctions will not prevent the execution of the contracts. What remains unclear is how many arms deals, if any, will actually be concluded using cryptocurrencies.
There also remain unanswered questions about which cryptocurrencies would be accepted, how deposit and delivery would be handled, and what intermediaries might be involved.
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