A Selective and Incomplete Narrative: Nobitex’s Detailed Response to the Recent Reuters Report

The recent Reuters report on Nobitex attempts to portray Iran’s largest digital asset platform through a constructed narrative in which family ties, blockchain data, scattered interviews, historical references, unverified allegations and political assumptions are placed side by side to suggest a predetermined conclusion: that Nobitex is not merely a private technology company, but an entity close to the state or structurally used by it.

Despite its investigative form, the report repeatedly suffers from missing context, speculative leaps, misleading framing, selective data use and omission of facts that undermine its central thesis. The issue is not just the presence of inaccurate claims, but that in several cases the report’s own cited data points in the opposite direction of its implied conclusion.

Constraints Imposed on Nobitex Contradict Claims of State Affiliation

The report’s opening section focuses on the family background of two Nobitex co-founders, framing these ties as potential evidence of state affiliation or use of the platform. However, this framing is difficult to reconcile with Nobitex’s operational reality. The company has never obtained a formal license in Iran, has faced prolonged banking restrictions, and has had its payment gateway suspended for approximately one and a half years, including periods in which its domain faced access restrictions. It also remains unable to advertise through official media, use urban billboards, or freely hold public events, while facing sustained pressure from domestic media, including criticism from outlets aligned with official structures.

These conditions raise a fundamental question: if Nobitex had institutional backing, why does it lack the most basic operational advantages expected of a large business, such as stable banking access, official advertising channels, licensing, and protection? The report does not address this contradiction, as doing so would weaken its central premise.

No Evidence of Identity Concealment

One of the most problematic aspects of the report is its suggestion that the founders altered or concealed their identity. This claim is incorrect. The founders of Nobitex have never changed their surname, which is their real, ancestral and legal family name, and they have consistently operated under it in their personal, academic and professional lives.

Nobitex explicitly clarified this point in its response to the author. However, rather than reflecting that response accurately, the report constructs the appearance of a concealment narrative that does not exist. This portrayal is further undermined by the fact that official communications, including the email correspondence used for Nobitex’s response, demonstrate a transparent and consistent identity at both the individual and organizational level.

More importantly, the premise itself is flawed. Nobitex is a private technology company, where professional relationships are defined by expertise and performance, not by employees’ awareness of each other’s family backgrounds. The report treats the lack of such awareness among some interviewees as suspicious, without explaining why such knowledge should be expected in the first place.

The argument is also internally inconsistent. While the report emphasizes that some individuals were unaware of the founders’ family ties, it simultaneously acknowledges that others with direct interaction were aware of them. If there had been any coordinated effort to conceal identity, such uneven awareness would be difficult to explain.

This inconsistency extends further. While the report highlights family connections as analytically significant, it also acknowledges the presence of political views critical of the state in interactions involving the founders. If such ties were a meaningful indicator of alignment or influence, it is unclear why these contrary signals do not factor into the analysis. Nor does the report explain why, if such connections implied influence, there is no observable evidence of it in areas such as licensing, advertising, banking access, or institutional support.

A more plausible interpretation is that the founders’ family background was neither concealed nor operationally relevant to the company’s day-to-day professional environment.

The Majority of Activity on Nobitex Is Driven by Retail Users

The report attempts to portray Nobitex’s role in Iran’s financial system as part of sanctions evasion, but this characterization is not supported by its own evidence. The blockchain data it cites shows that even under the highest estimates, transactions linked to suspicious or illicit activity account for only a small fraction of total activity, around 3 percent, and in some independent analyses as low as 0.9 percent.

This raises a fundamental question: how can such limited figures be used to imply systematic or state-driven use? If the overwhelming majority of activity originates from ordinary users, the logical conclusion is that Nobitex primarily serves a retail user base, not that a broader pattern of illicit use should be inferred despite the data. Framing the issue otherwise is not a matter of data analysis, but a shift from evidence to speculation.

Moreover, neither international sanctions frameworks nor U.S. executive orders have treated ordinary individuals’ efforts to preserve the value of their assets or invest in digital assets as inherently sanctionable. The report itself acknowledges that the majority of Nobitex’s activity originates from ordinary users. Framing the use of digital assets by Iranian citizens, particularly as a means of protecting savings in a high-inflation environment, as part of a sanctions-evasion architecture misrepresents both the legal context and the underlying economic reality.

Operational Continuity During Wartime Reflects Responsibility, Not Privilege

The report presents Nobitex’s continued operation during wartime conditions as evidence of privileged access or a special position. This interpretation is incomplete. During the same period, other domestic exchanges in Iran also remained operational, reflecting a broader industry effort to maintain minimal service levels, ensure users’ access to their assets, and mitigate security risks associated with restricted access. Denying users access to their assets during a crisis would have introduced far greater risks, including loss of trust and potential system-wide instability.

The report also cites approximately $100 million in transfers during the war period, around one-fifth of Nobitex’s typical capacity, yet fails to address a key inconsistency: if digital assets were being systematically used for sanctions evasion under heightened pressure, one would expect transaction volumes to increase, not decline. It also does not clarify the nature of these transfers—specifically, whether they were directed to ordinary users or to coordinated or anomalous destinations. If these flows largely reflected users accessing their own assets, framing them as suspicious overlooks a basic user right.

More broadly, the report invokes general statements about the risks of crypto-related illicit activity without sufficient context. It does not consider the specific economic conditions in Iran, where many users rely on digital assets as a hedge against inflation. Nor does it address the structural constraints imposed by sanctions, which limit Iranian exchanges’ access to international transaction-monitoring and blockchain analytics tools in a consistent and reliable manner. Given the inherently transparent nature of blockchain systems, access to such tools would enhance, not weaken, the detection of misuse. Restricting access to these tools while simultaneously criticizing their absence reflects an unresolved contradiction in the report’s analysis.

Questionable Evidence Behind the Family Narrative

The report also acknowledges that neither the Nobitex founders nor their first-degree relatives, including their father, have held governmental or military positions. Yet, without presenting evidence to contradict this fact, it continues to frame the founders through an implied political-family lens. If the father’s activities were confined to the private sector, it is unclear why the founders should be defined through a vague family narrative rather than their academic and professional records.

This framing is further weakened by the nature of the supporting material. In one instance, the report refers to personal lifestyle details such as the type of car driven as if they carry analytical significance, despite offering no clear connection to its central claims. Such references contribute more to shaping perception than to establishing substantiated arguments.

Similarly, the report cites external sources, including a Chinese article that itself contains inconsistencies, to suggest possible indirect shareholding through family members. Even if such claims were accurate, the report does not explain why they should be considered improper. Family members appearing together in business contexts is not, in itself, unusual or indicative of misconduct. Presenting such associations as inherently suspicious, without clear evidence of wrongdoing, reflects a pattern of inference that extends beyond what the available facts can support.

Misinterpretation of Binance-Related Data

Another section of the article relies on a scattered set of data points, including a claim that $7.8 billion was transferred by Binance for Nobitex. However, the report does not clearly explain the origin of this figure, how it is defined, or what it is intended to demonstrate. Available industry analyses from that period do not describe such flows as one-way transfers “for Nobitex,” but rather as two-way movements between exchanges. Much of this activity can be more plausibly explained by Iranian users accessing global platforms during periods of availability, or by market makers moving between exchanges to maintain price alignment.

Crucially, the report does not address how Binance, particularly during a period when it did not operate fiat rails in the manner implied, could have functioned as a structured channel for sanctions evasion. Nor does it clarify what portion of the cited figure, if any, is actually linked to illicit activity, as opposed to ordinary user flows or inter-exchange operations. Framing this period as evidence of sanctions evasion, despite the absence of clear regulatory prohibition and the presence of legitimate market activity, reflects a conclusion that extends beyond what the underlying data can support.

Selective Standards Applied to Market Participants

A more important question is whether the report applies a consistent standard across market participants. If serving Iranian users is treated as inherently suspicious, why are other platforms such as CoinEx, LBank, XT and similar exchanges, many of which continue to serve Iranian users today, not examined through the same lens? The issue is not whether market access should be scrutinized, but why the scrutiny is applied selectively. A consistent analysis would require comparing Nobitex’s conduct with that of other platforms operating in the same user market, rather than treating Nobitex as uniquely suspect without explaining the basis for that distinction.

Overlooking Nobitex’s Technical Evolution Toward Greater Transparency

The report refers to Nobitex’s past use of technical practices such as address rotation and privacy-related features, but omits the broader context of how these practices evolved. These features were discontinued from 2021 onward in response to increasing international sensitivities and regulatory considerations. In the years that followed, Nobitex moved toward greater transparency, maintaining more stable address structures and eliminating privacy-oriented transfer mechanisms.

This shift has made the platform significantly more visible within blockchain analytics systems. As a result, Nobitex addresses have been widely identified and tagged by multiple analytics providers. In such an environment, large-scale, intentional misuse of the platform for illicit purposes would be inherently risky and inefficient. Actors seeking to avoid detection would be more likely to prefer less visible alternatives.

More broadly, the report overlooks a key methodological issue in interpreting blockchain data. In highly interconnected transaction networks, multi-hop links can be established between virtually any large exchange and a wide range of addresses. However, such indirect associations do not demonstrate intentional, structured or systemic use of a platform. At most, they may reflect limited or incidental interactions, often driven by users who may not fully understand the transparency and traceability of blockchain systems.

Omission of Relevant Social Context

The report also draws on workplace-related claims following the Mahsa Amini protests, suggesting that internal policies became more restrictive. This characterization is either inaccurate or reflects a misunderstanding of the broader building environment, in which Nobitex operated as one tenant among several companies. There is no evidence that Nobitex’s internal policies regarding dress code or workplace conduct materially changed before or after these events. Any stricter procedures at building entrances or enforced by external security personnel were not under the company’s control and cannot be attributed to its internal management.

More importantly, the report omits relevant context that contradicts its implied narrative. Nobitex itself, along with its CEO in a personal capacity, publicly expressed sympathy regarding the Mahsa Amini incident. These positions led to sustained criticism and pressure from hardline domestic groups. The exclusion of this context results in a one-sided portrayal that overlooks evidence inconsistent with the claim that the company is aligned with restrictive state structures.

A similar pattern appears in the treatment of past associations. The report references the sanctions designation of a company previously linked to a Nobitex-related individual, but fails to note that the individual had exited that company well before the events leading to its designation. By omitting this timeline, the report creates a misleading impression of responsibility and ongoing association where none existed.

Selective Interpretation of Nobitex’s Response to the Security Incident

The report’s treatment of the Nobitex security incident further illustrates a pattern of selective interpretation. Following the hack, Nobitex acted as a private company: it accepted responsibility, communicated transparently with users, and compensated affected balances from its own resources. No state institution intervened or assumed responsibility. In a context where state backing is implied, the absence of any visible institutional support during a major crisis raises an obvious question: if such backing existed, why was it not evident when it would have been most consequential?

The report also advances a broader claim that successful businesses in Iran cannot operate without state connections, yet it does not define what constitutes “success.” Nobitex operates without a formal license, has faced prolonged banking restrictions, cannot access official advertising channels, and has been subject to sustained domestic pressure. If success is understood in terms of user trust, product delivery, and market adoption under constraint, these characteristics are more consistent with a private, demand-driven company than with a state-supported enterprise.

A similar issue arises in the discussion of the Babak Zanjani case. While the report attempts to position Nobitex within a broader network of financial flows, the available evidence does not identify it as the origin, architect, or controlling entity within that network. Instead, the primary flows were associated with other platforms and actors, with Nobitex appearing, at most, as a downstream point of liquidity. Conflating indirect transactional proximity with structural involvement reflects a misinterpretation of how blockchain-based financial networks operate.

This pattern extends to the report’s broader use of data. Even under its own most expansive assumptions, transactions linked to suspicious activity account for only a small share of total activity, around 3 percent, and in some independent analyses closer to 0.9 percent. Despite this, the report continues to imply the possibility of significantly higher levels of illicit use, without presenting substantiating evidence. Similarly, references to alleged links with sanctioned groups are presented without sufficient detail regarding scale, transaction depth, or attribution quality, limiting any meaningful assessment of their significance.

More fundamentally, the report does not reconcile its claims with the structural characteristics of blockchain systems. Unlike informal financial networks such as hawala, blockchain transactions are inherently traceable, increasingly monitored, and subject to tagging by analytics providers. The absence of Nobitex from major international sanctions lists, combined with the transparency of its transaction environment, is more consistent with limited exposure to illicit use than with systematic involvement in sanctions evasion.

Conclusion: Narrative vs. Reality

Taken together, the report relies on fragmented data, incomplete narratives, selective framing, and conclusions that extend beyond the available evidence. The resulting portrayal of Nobitex does not align with the company’s operational realities, nor with key elements of the data the report itself presents.

Nobitex operates as an independent private technology company in a highly constrained economic and infrastructural environment. Despite persistent banking restrictions, the absence of formal licensing, limitations on advertising, and exposure to security incidents, it has maintained the trust of millions of users. This trust has not been derived from institutional backing, but from continued service delivery under constraint.

A defining moment in this regard was the company’s response to its recent security incident. Nobitex assumed responsibility, communicated transparently with users, and compensated losses using its own resources. This response reflected the behavior of a private entity accountable to its users, not one reliant on external support structures. It also contributed to restoring user confidence and stabilizing platform activity in the aftermath of the incident.

Ultimately, user trust is not determined by narrative framing, but by sustained performance, transparency, and accountability. While narratives may shape perception in the short term, they cannot substitute for operational reality. Nobitex’s trajectory reflects a company responding to market demand and user needs under constraint, rather than one defined by hidden affiliations. Preserving that trust requires continued adherence to professional, ethical, and transparent practices—principles that remain central to its ongoing operations.

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