CoinEx Processed $3.8B for Sanctioned Iranian Operations, TRM Labs Reports
According to TRM Labs, 60 Iranian entities under sanctions transferred $3.8 billion via CoinEx, with the platform's illicit transaction rate of 8% significantly exceeding industry standards.
Cryptocurrency wallets connected to Iranian entities under sanctions have transferred more than $3.84 billion through the CoinEx crypto exchange platform beginning in 2019, establishing it as a primary conduit for circumventing economic sanctions imposed by the United States, blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs has revealed.
Approximately 60 Iranian platforms have been connected to these funds, with $2.7 billion in transactions occurring between CoinEx and Nobitex, the nation's premier domestic cryptocurrency trading platform, averaging roughly $1 million daily since 2018, according to a Wednesday report published by TRM Labs.
As of 2024, CoinEx had emerged as Nobitex's primary external trading partner, handling volumes nearly nine times greater than the second-largest exchange, a trend that TRM Labs characterized as "inconsistent with independent market behaviour."
The findings arrive three weeks following the US Treasury's decision to impose sanctions on four Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges under its "Economic Fury" initiative. Just days prior to these sanctions being announced, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed that the Treasury had confiscated $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency from Iranian exchanges and digital wallets since the onset of the conflict.
In a public statement released Thursday via X, CoinEx refuted claims of maintaining any business relationship with the Iranian government or Iranian domestic exchanges and stated it has never facilitated funding channels for sanctioned entities. The exchange additionally challenged TRM Labs' analysis of blockchain data, asserting that onchain fund movements do not prove a platform's awareness of or involvement in unlawful activities.
Top Iranian exchanges route up to 10% of volume through CoinEx
The majority of leading Iranian domestic cryptocurrency exchanges channel approximately 5% to 10% of their total trading volume through CoinEx, suggesting a "coordinated arrangement rather than organic adoption," TRM Labs stated in their analysis.
The proportion of illicit transaction volume on CoinEx stands at nearly 8%, substantially above the 0.3% benchmark observed at other compliant cryptocurrency exchanges.
ViaBTC, a mining pool associated with CoinEx, was responsible for an additional $154 million in documented exposure to Nobitex via mining payouts and provided emergency liquidity support to Nobitex in the aftermath of Predatory Sparrow's $90 million cyberattack in June 2025.
Cointelegraph reached out to ViaBTC requesting comment regarding TRM Labs' discoveries but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Nobitex served as the central hub of Iran's "digital dollar pipeline" and processed approximately 50% of the nation's cryptocurrency trading volume, based on a June 2 report released by blockchain forensics platform Chainalysis.
In May, Nobitex was allegedly connected to individuals from an influential family with connections to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In January, the Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on Zedcex and Zedxion, both registered in the UK, for operating as front companies serving the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).