Key Takeaways:
Seychelles-registered crypto exchange CoinEx processed more than $3.84 billion in transactions tied to sanctioned Iranian entities over seven years, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said CoinEx facilitated more than $3.84 billion in flows with sanctioned Iranian crypto entities over seven years, including $2.7 billion with Iran's largest exchange Nobitex.
"CoinEx became the single biggest foreign trading partner for Nobitex, which alone accounted for roughly $2.7 billion of the traced volume," TRM Labs said in a report published Wednesday.
The Seychelles-registered exchange had direct transaction exposure to more than 60 Iranian crypto platforms, with each major Iranian exchange routing 5% to 10% of its volume through CoinEx — a pattern TRM analysts described as evidence of coordinated activity rather than organic market adoption. TRM also identified $6 million in transactions linked to wallets associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and $374,000 tied to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The report comes after the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges — Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex — on June 2, representing about 78% of Iran's estimated $9.9 billion in crypto trading volume in 2025. CoinEx denied any commercial relationship with Iranian entities and said it has begun exiting Iran-related business, but the findings expose compliance gaps that could invite regulatory scrutiny on offshore exchanges processing sanctioned-linked flows.
How CoinEx displaced Binance as Iran's primary gateway
Historically, Binance served as the main international platform for Nobitex. That shifted around 2022 after Binance faced U.S. regulatory action over violations that included servicing Iranian customers. By 2024, CoinEx had emerged as the replacement. Throughout 2025, more than $763 million moved between CoinEx and Nobitex — roughly nine times the volume of the second-largest foreign exchange partner for Nobitex, according to TRM Labs.
The Central Bank of Iran also laundered about $67 million through CoinEx between June 2025 and June 2026, using a multi-blockchain obfuscation network that moved funds across Tron and Ethereum through decentralized finance applications and cross-chain bridge protocols before reaching CoinEx wallets, TRM said. Investigators earlier this year linked some of those wallets to $1.5 billion in stolen assets from the Bybit exchange hack attributed to North Korean state-sponsored hackers.
CoinEx pushes back as compliance scrutiny intensifies
CoinEx rejected the findings, saying it "never established any commercial relationship with Iranian government-related entities, Iranian domestic exchanges" or "provided any form of active assistance to Iranian government agencies, Revolutionary Guard-related entities, or other sanctioned parties."
"Blockchain transactions are open, cross-platform, and traceable by nature. The fact that funds have passed through a platform onchain does not mean that the platform was aware of, supported, or participated in the related fund activity," CoinEx said in a statement.
Following the June 2 OFAC sanctions, CoinEx rotated its hot wallet infrastructure and transaction volumes with Iranian platforms collapsed to less than $150,000. The exchange said it has begun blocking new Iranian registrations and implementing IP-based restrictions for Iranian addresses.
The report adds to mounting pressure on offshore exchanges to strengthen sanctions controls. U.S. Treasury has warned foreign financial institutions that significant dealings with designated Iranian crypto platforms could trigger secondary sanctions risk, potentially pressuring CoinEx's global banking relationships even without a direct OFAC action.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
