Iran Internet Blackout Sparks Surge in Offline Bitcoin Solutions and Satellite-Based Crypto Trading

Internet access in Iran was cut on Thursday by the government as protests spread across the Middle Eastern country, raising the question: Can its citizens still use crypto? Around seven million people, out of the country’s 92 million population, are estimated to be crypto users, according to Statista. TRM Labs tracked roughly $3.7 billion in total crypto flows in Iran between January and July 2025.

But internet access has been cut off in the country as protests began over worsening economic conditions, and after the Iranian rial hit record lows against the US dollar. Some outside observers, such as Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, have suggested buying Bitcoin (BTC) could be a solution as a store of wealth.

Without access to the internet, Iranians will find it far more difficult to transact using cryptocurrency. However, several technologies available today could make a difference. Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet equipment, for one, can provide high-speed internet in areas that previously lacked service.

There have been calls for Musk to deploy Starlink to restore internet in the country as he did during a previous blackout in June 2025. Unconfirmed reports claim Musk has quietly granted the request.

Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream could provide another option for crypto users. Its satellite network can broadcast Bitcoin data anywhere in the world without using the internet.

Starlink provides two-way high-speed internet by connecting user dishes to satellites that relay data globally via laser and ground stations.

Some clever users have also found that Jack Dorsey’s decentralized peer-to-peer messaging service, Bitchat, which uses a Bluetooth mesh network to send messages, can also allow Bitcoin transaction data to be sent between phones. However, eventually a device with internet is required before it can be confirmed on-chain.

Chromestats show Bitchat has been downloaded more than 1.4 million times since its launch, with over 19,828 coming in the last day and more than 460,724 in the last week. Meanwhile, there are also several tools in the works to allow crypto use offline.

Darkwire, a tool that uses long-range radio to create a decentralized mesh network to send data, such as Bitcoin transactions, without the internet, was unveiled by its pseudonymous creator Cyb3r17 in May 2025.

Similar to Blockstreams satellites and Bitchat, eventually, a device in the network requires the internet for the transaction to be verified and added to the blockchain. Darkwire is listed on GitHub as undergoing a major rewrite.

In 2022, a South African software developer, Kgothatso Ngako, reportedly created a different solution known as Machankura. The tool lets users send and receive Bitcoin using phones without an internet connection by leveraging the mobile telecom network, according to a March 2023 Forbes report and the project's website.

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How can Iranians access and transact cryptocurrency during a total internet blackout? Iranians are bypassing government-imposed internet shutdowns by using a combination of satellite and peer-to-peer technologies to maintain financial sovereignty. Elon Musk's Starlink provides high-speed connectivity independent of local infrastructure, while Blockstream satellites broadcast Bitcoin blockchain data globally, allowing for offline verification. For local transactions, users are turning to decentralized mesh networks like Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat, which uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to relay signed Bitcoin transaction data between mobile devices until it reaches a node with internet access. These tools are increasingly critical as the Iranian rial has depreciated by roughly 90%, driving over seven million citizens to seek refuge in digital assets.