When the network goes down: how Iranians continue to trade Bitcoin via satellite internet and offline tools

The situation in Iran has escalated to a critical point. Against the backdrop of mass protests and a catastrophic decline in the national currency’s exchange rate, the country’s authorities decided to cut off access to the global network for almost the entire population. As a result of this radical action, approximately 7 million people who actively use digital assets were disconnected from the internet.

The scale of the problem and its economic consequences

Analytical company TRM Labs conducted a study and published impressive figures: during the first half of 2025, the volume of crypto transactions within Iran reached $3.7 billion. This indicates how deeply digital assets have embedded themselves in the financial lives of the Iranian public as an alternative to traditional systems.

Hunter Horsley, head of the investment firm Bitwise, positions Bitcoin as an optimal tool for preserving accumulated capital in conditions where the national currency is rapidly losing value.

Alternative technologies: how cryptocurrency operates without internet

Cutting off network access does not mean a complete blockade of crypto transactions. There are a number of innovative solutions that allow users to stay in the game:

Satellite communication as a backup: Starlink — satellite internet providing high-speed connectivity independent of ground infrastructure — has already been activated in the country. Additionally, the Blockstream satellite platform, which specializes in broadcasting Bitcoin data worldwide, is operational.

Short-range wireless networks: The decentralized service Bitchat operates based on Bluetooth technology and creates local mesh networks. Since its launch, the app has been downloaded over 1.4 million times and allows information about transactions to be transmitted directly between mobile devices.

Radio frequency solutions: The Darkwire project, developed by Cyb3r17, relies on remote radio communication to organize a distributed mesh network. This enables sending Bitcoin transactions without direct internet access.

Telecommunications channel: Machankura — a service created by South African developer Kgothatso Ngako — offers an alternative route: users can send and receive Bitcoin through mobile telecom networks, bypassing the need for direct internet connection.

Technical limitations and reality

All these methods share one common characteristic: sooner or later, they require a device connected to the network to record the transaction in the distributed blockchain ledger and receive final confirmation of the operation. In other words, these are temporary creative solutions, not a permanent alternative to full internet access.

However, the very existence of these tools demonstrates the resilience of the crypto ecosystem and how decentralized technologies adapt to conditions of total blockade.