How CoinEx Became Iran’s Premier Crypto Gateway for $3.84B in Sanctioned Transactions

Key Highlights

• Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs identified more than $3.84 billion in cryptocurrency transactions flowing between CoinEx and Iranian entities under sanctions spanning a seven-year period
• By 2024, CoinEx displaced Binance to become the largest foreign counterparty for Nobitex, Iran’s dominant domestic exchange
• The Central Bank of Iran laundered $67 million through CoinEx using sophisticated multi-blockchain obfuscation techniques
• The exchange maintained direct blockchain connections to wallets associated with IRGC, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad
• Following June 2, 2026 OFAC sanctions against four major Iranian platforms, CoinEx rotated its hot wallet infrastructure and transaction volumes plummeted to under $150,000

A comprehensive investigation by blockchain intelligence provider TRM Labs has revealed that CoinEx, the Seychelles-registered cryptocurrency exchange established in 2017 by Haipo Yang, a former Tencent software engineer, facilitated over $3.84 billion in digital asset transfers connected to Iranian organizations currently under international sanctions.

Despite its international registration, the platform developed substantial operational ties to Iran across multiple years. According to former personnel, CoinEx deployed business development representatives within Iranian borders to actively recruit local traders, though the exchange officially disputes these allegations.

How CoinEx Displaced Binance as Iran’s Primary International Gateway

Historically, Binance served as the predominant international platform for Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. This dynamic shifted dramatically around 2022, following Binance’s confrontation with US regulatory authorities over violations that included servicing Iranian customers.

CoinEx emerged as Binance’s replacement by 2024. Throughout 2025, over $763 million in cryptocurrency moved between CoinEx and Nobitex, establishing CoinEx’s volume at approximately nine times that of the second-largest identified foreign exchange partner for Nobitex.

Beginning in 2018, approximately $2.7 billion transferred between these two platforms through roughly 6.2 million separate transactions — representing a daily average of $1 million in transaction flow.

Analysis shows Nobitex transferred approximately $360 million more to CoinEx than it received in return, indicating a net outflow pattern where Iranian cryptocurrency holders were accessing international liquidity and markets.

Iranian Central Bank’s Multi-Chain Money Laundering Operation

According to TRM Labs’ forensic analysis, approximately $67 million connected to Iran’s Central Bank entered CoinEx between June 2025 and June 2026. These funds traveled through an elaborate obfuscation network utilizing both Tron and Ethereum networks, incorporating decentralized finance applications and cross-chain bridge protocols before ultimately arriving at CoinEx wallets.

The operation operated under the National Iranian Exchange’s supervision through a program internally designated as “National–Tether.” Intelligence suggests CoinEx also supplied transaction fee funding that facilitated portions of this laundering infrastructure.

Additional investigation earlier this year established connections between certain Central Bank wallets and $1.5 billion in stolen assets from the Bybit exchange breach attributed to North Korean state-sponsored hackers.

TRM’s analysis extended beyond the Central Bank to identify CoinEx transactions with over 60 distinct Iranian cryptocurrency platforms, including Wallex, Ramzinex, BitPin, and numerous smaller operators. Remarkably, each major Iranian exchange routed between 5–10% of its aggregate volume through CoinEx — a uniformity that TRM analysts interpret as evidence of systematic coordination rather than organic market selection.

Direct blockchain evidence links CoinEx to wallets controlled by the IRGC ($6 million in exposure), Palestinian Islamic Jihad ($374,000), and Hezbollah-affiliated addresses.

Regulatory Action Triggers Transaction Pattern Changes

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on June 2, 2026, targeting four prominent Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges: Nobitex, BitPin, Wallex, and Ramzinex. These platforms collectively represented approximately 78% of Iran’s estimated $9.9 billion cryptocurrency trading volume during 2025.

Following these designations, CoinEx rotated its hot wallet infrastructure. Transaction volumes between CoinEx and Iranian platforms collapsed to less than $150,000.

Pre-sanctions data showed average transaction sizes between CoinEx and Nobitex around $435. Following geopolitical tensions escalating between the United States, Iran, and Israel in late February 2026, average transaction sizes increased to $2,110, with larger consolidated transfers representing an expanding proportion of overall activity.

Yang announced CoinEx would halt acceptance of new Iranian registrations and implement measures to phase out existing Iranian accounts. The platform simultaneously deployed IP-based blocking for Iranian addresses. CoinEx maintains it did not knowingly process transactions for sanctioned organizations.

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