Can Bitcoin help the opposition in Iran?

[d5000]

The Iranian protests are brutally supressed by the regime's troops and allied militias. NGOs speak of over 12,000 deaths and even this number could be too low.

As there are well known actors in the Iranian civil society, Bitcoin could be used to support them, bypassing the (probably tightly controlled / censored) banking system.

If this support is strong enough, perhaps the opposition can win - first enabling the purchase of good communication equipment, but also because in poor countries, everybody can be bribed and bought. And the currency in Iran plummeted down to minuscule values, probably making Bitcoin (and other crypto, e.g. USDT) payments highly valuable in the country.

However, there's a problem: The internet has been shut down in Iran.

Could Bitcoiners help the Iranian opposition to receive donations in Bitcoin and use cryptocurrency to transact? Some possible strategies:

- Smuggle satellite communication equipment into Iran, for example for Starlink (Can even be a profitable business, although it shouldn't be too expensive.)
- Provide strong wireless internet signal from neighboring countries at the country's borders (e.g. at the border to Turkey). Idem, could even be profitable.
- Help to build up mesh networks, which can share the Internet and also Bitcoin networking. This could be a "safety net" if the government tries to shut down the Internet again.
- Introduce equipment to receive and broadcast Bitcoin blocks and transactions over alternative means like shortwave radio. This should however only be used for emergencies.
- Software tools to hide the reception of Bitcoin or other "subversive" communication, to avoid to get catched by the police.
- Share strategies to hide communication equipment.

Here in an Internet forum most of us are of course amateurs in these "serious" topics, but it would be interesting to know what ideas are possible.

[MusaMohamed]

However, there's a problem: The internet has been shut down in Iran.

Could Bitcoiners help the Iranian opposition to receive donations in Bitcoin and use cryptocurrency to transact? Some possible strategies:

- Smuggle satellite communication equipment into Iran, for example for Starlink (Can even be a profitable business, although it shouldn't be too expensive.)

They can still have limited access to Internet through Starlink even with noise signal attempts made by the governement. If they have access to Internet, they can use Bitcoin wallet and blockchain for broadcasting transactions, it is just not as good as before the current political and social crisis there.

Otherwise they can consider to use offgrid transactions but I am not sure it's possible for Iranians.
[Total privacy Bitcoin]: off grid Transactions LoRaWan/goTenna

[Zaguru12]

All options are actually worth considering but let’s not forget that smuggling in bitcoin into Iran to help actually has its high risk with both the enemies of Iran and even the Iran government on your neck as both might think you are favouring the other.

With that said, first idea that came to my mind is that not every place must be with internet connection as only one person can have the internet like the star link you stated and the rest can simply just go for it and set up a local node, with the local node others can actually sign an offline transaction, save it as a file and look for other offline method to transmit this file to the local node like modem, drive or other means like that and help broadcast it,

[Pmalek]

Bitcoin can help anyone in Iran, opposition or not, because their national currency is collapsing. The internet should come back online as the protests calm down. It's already happening. I wouldn't trust the death tolls and numbers being projected in the media, nor would I trust those released by official government institutions. It's propaganda in either case. They both have their reasons to lie.

[alani123]

The west isn't for genuine revolutions ever or anywhere.

The sanctions imposed on Iran means that you and I could be landed in jail or at best have our bank accounts closed if we send money to Iranian institutions or individuals. And for Iranians to buy crypto they would need access to institutions willing to take their cash in exchange for crypto. But anyone in the west is barred from accepting Iranian currency.

So once again, the sanctions harm the people.

[freedomgo]

With Starlink, all I really know is that some people are saying it still provides connectivity, even with older units that were supposedly terminated. If someone manages to stay connected, then yes, they could technically transact in Bitcoin.

But honestly, the bigger risk isn’t sending or receiving Bitcoin. The real problem is converting that Bitcoin into actual goods or services. At some point, you still need an exchange or someone willing to accept it for what you need, and that’s where exposure usually happens. If they get caught at that stage, we already know what the consequences could be.

As for your question about how to help, I think the most realistic part is simply enabling access to the internet so they can receive Bitcoin in the first place. Beyond that, things get complicated fast.

Governments may not always have visibility into every connection, but once funds start moving into the real economy, that’s usually where risks show up.

[DeeppRockk]

With Starlink, all I really know is that some people are saying it still provides connectivity, even with older units that were supposedly terminated. If someone manages to stay connected, then yes, they could technically transact in Bitcoin.

But honestly, the bigger risk isnt sending or receiving Bitcoin. The real problem is converting that Bitcoin into actual goods or services. At some point, you still need an exchange or someone willing to accept it for what you need, and thats where exposure usually happens. If they get caught at that stage, we already know what the consequences could be.

As for your question about how to help, I think the most realistic part is simply enabling access to the internet so they can receive Bitcoin in the first place. Beyond that, things get complicated fast.

Governments may not always have visibility into every connection, but once funds start moving into the real economy, thats usually where risks show up.

You're right about the conversion challenge being the real hurdle. Even if someone manages to transact Bitcoin discreetly, turning it into tangible goods without exposing themselves is a massive risk.

Iran's hyperinflation and currency controls already make the local rial nearly useless, which ironically might push more people toward Bitcoin. But finding sellers willing to accept it-or trusted intermediaries to facilitate that exchange-is another layer of complexity. The regime has cracked down hard on crypto exchanges, so peer-to-peer networks would likely be the only option.

Even then, trust is scarce in environments where informants could be anywhere.

[As-Soon-As]

Bitcoin certainly has the power to help, whether it is in the opposition or not, and it can help anyone. Since the situation in Iran is very dire right now because many people have been killed in this war, I heard in the media. Now they are deprived of the internet, but their national currency has been destroyed a lot due to this war in Iran. But it is definitely most important for Iran to get back online at this time.

[Lucius]

~snip~
Could Bitcoiners help the Iranian opposition to receive donations in Bitcoin and use cryptocurrency to transact? Some possible strategies:

- Smuggle satellite communication equipment into Iran, for example for Starlink (Can even be a profitable business, although it shouldn't be too expensive.)

It's not that they haven't already tried, but a video has appeared showing that the authorities seized one such shipment. Even if you manage to smuggle any equipment of this type, anyone in possession of it will find themselves targeted by the authorities as a spy/traitor.

https://x.com/APHRODSAS1/status/2011410265745854736

- Provide strong wireless internet signal from neighboring countries at the country's borders (e.g. at the border to Turkey). Idem, could even be profitable.
- Help to build up mesh networks, which can share the Internet and also Bitcoin networking. This could be a "safety net" if the government tries to shut down the Internet again.
- Introduce equipment to receive and broadcast Bitcoin blocks and transactions over alternative means like shortwave radio. This should however only be used for emergencies.
- Software tools to hide the reception of Bitcoin or other "subversive" communication, to avoid to get catched by the police.
- Share strategies to hide communication equipment.

Here in an Internet forum most of us are of course amateurs in these "serious" topics, but it would be interesting to know what ideas are possible.

The question is how much neighboring countries want to help when it comes to something like this, and also the authorities at the border can place devices that block/jam wireless signals. A mesh network or something similar inside the country that would be difficult to detect would be the best choice, but that would require thousands of people risking their lives.

I do not think that Bitcoin can play any significant role in the attempts of the Iranian people to change the government in the country, because recent events have shown that the same government has the support of two countries that until recently showed the greatest hostility towards Iran. Let everyone ask themselves why the US and Israel did not help the Iranian people prevail but left them to slaughter.

[arwin100]

The Iranian protests are brutally supressed by the regime's troops and allied militias. NGOs speak of over 12,000 deaths and even this number could be too low.

As there are well known actors in the Iranian civil society, Bitcoin could be used to support them, bypassing the (probably tightly controlled / censored) banking system.

If this support is strong enough, perhaps the opposition can win - first enabling the purchase of good communication equipment, but also because in poor countries, everybody can be bribed and bought. And the currency in Iran plummeted down to minuscule values, probably making Bitcoin (and other crypto, e.g. USDT) payments highly valuable in the country.

However, there's a problem: The internet has been shut down in Iran.

Could Bitcoiners help the Iranian opposition to receive donations in Bitcoin and use cryptocurrency to transact? Some possible strategies:

- Smuggle satellite communication equipment into Iran, for example for Starlink (Can even be a profitable business, although it shouldn't be too expensive.)
- Provide strong wireless internet signal from neighboring countries at the country's borders (e.g. at the border to Turkey). Idem, could even be profitable.
- Help to build up mesh networks, which can share the Internet and also Bitcoin networking. This could be a "safety net" if the government tries to shut down the Internet again.
- Introduce equipment to receive and broadcast Bitcoin blocks and transactions over alternative means like shortwave radio. This should however only be used for emergencies.
- Software tools to hide the reception of Bitcoin or other "subversive" communication, to avoid to get catched by the police.
- Share strategies to hide communication equipment.

Here in an Internet forum most of us are of course amateurs in these "serious" topics, but it would be interesting to know what ideas are possible.

The major issue is there's a internet outage still happening in Iran. That's why receiving donation is nearly close to impossible not unless if some Bitcoiner out there know how to transact Bitcoin on offline, because maybe they can make this Bitcoin donation drive successful. This might be so technical to others and maybe there's only few people there know how to execute this.

Although Bitcoin is not magical tool, but this is helpful coin and be useful when crisis happens. If they just don't have network connectivity and no censorship happening in their country for sure they can connect to people globally who want to support them even if their government tries to control and isolate them.

[Bluedrem]

First of all, the Iranian opposition, the protesters, need to be educated on how to use Bitcoin. Because I don't think most of them know about Bitcoin. When they don't know about Bitcoin, they can't use it properly. Yes, it may be that they can use those among them who know about Bitcoin as proxies. But the risk is that this information is not something that should be kept secret. Maybe the militias in Iran will know about this network and arrest them.
I think it would be most effective if the Iranians knew a lot about Bitcoin beforehand. But if they had to be educated on this now, it would be a little more complicated because the internet is currently cut off in their country, so it won't be possible for everyone to use the internet at the border. Even if some people try to use the internet at the border, I don't think this information will be hidden from the state forces.
So I want to say that even if they can help them through Bitcoin secrecy, I think the success rate at the moment, in this situation, will be very low, meaning it won't be that effective.