Iran Used This Global Crypto Exchange to Move Billions — Now the US Is Taking Action

TLDR

• TRM Labs traced over $3.84 billion in crypto flows between CoinEx and sanctioned Iranian entities over seven years
• CoinEx became Nobitex’s single largest foreign counterparty by 2024, replacing Binance
• Iran’s Central Bank routed $67 million through CoinEx via a complex multi-chain laundering scheme
• CoinEx has direct exposure to IRGC, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah wallets
• After OFAC sanctioned four Iranian exchanges on June 2, 2026, CoinEx cycled hot wallets and volumes dropped below $150,000

CoinEx, a global cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017 by former Tencent engineer Haipo Yang, has processed more than $3.84 billion in transactions linked to sanctioned Iranian entities, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.

The exchange, registered in the Seychelles, built a growing presence in Iran over several years. Former employees say it employed business-development managers in the country to recruit users, though CoinEx denies this.

CoinEx Replaced Binance as Iran’s Top Foreign Exchange

For years, Binance was the largest foreign counterparty to Iran’s biggest domestic exchange, Nobitex. That changed around 2022, when Binance faced US penalties partly for allowing Iranian customers.

By 2024, CoinEx had taken Binance’s place. More than $763 million moved between CoinEx and Nobitex in 2025 alone, making CoinEx nearly nine times larger than the next biggest named foreign exchange for Nobitex.

Since 2018, roughly $2.7 billion has moved between the two platforms across around 6.2 million individual transfers — an average of $1 million per day.

Nobitex sent approximately $360 million more to CoinEx than it received back, suggesting crypto was being moved outward from Iran to access international markets.

Iran’s Central Bank Used CoinEx to Launder Funds

TRM Labs found that $67 million tied to Iran’s Central Bank flowed into CoinEx between June 2025 and June 2026. The money moved through a layered scheme involving the Tron and Ethereum blockchains, decentralized finance protocols, and cross-chain bridges before landing at CoinEx.

The scheme was run through an entity called the National Iranian Exchange under a framework described internally as “National–Tether.” CoinEx reportedly also provided transaction fee funding that helped enable the laundering activity.

Earlier this year, investigators found that some of those Central Bank wallets were also connected to $1.5 billion stolen from exchange Bybit by North Korean hackers.

Beyond the Central Bank, TRM identified CoinEx exposure to more than 60 Iranian crypto entities, including Wallex, Ramzinex, BitPin, and dozens of smaller platforms. Every major Iranian exchange routed roughly 5–10% of its total volume through CoinEx — a consistent pattern TRM says points to a coordinated arrangement rather than independent market behavior.

CoinEx also has direct on-chain exposure to wallets linked to the IRGC ($6 million), Palestinian Islamic Jihad ($374,000), and Hezbollah.

Sanctions and a Shift in Transaction Patterns

On June 2, 2026, the US Treasury’s OFAC sanctioned four Iranian exchanges: Nobitex, BitPin, Wallex, and Ramzinex. These four together accounted for roughly 78% of Iran’s estimated $9.9 billion in 2025 crypto volume.

After the sanctions, CoinEx cycled its hot wallets. Volumes between CoinEx and Iranian entities dropped to below $150,000.

Before the sanctions, average transaction sizes between CoinEx and Nobitex were around $435. After hostilities between the US, Iran, and Israel escalated in late February 2026, that average rose to $2,110, with larger, consolidated transfers making up a growing share of activity.

Yang said CoinEx would not accept new Iranian users and was working to remove existing ones. The exchange also began blocking new users with Iranian IP addresses. CoinEx denies knowingly facilitating transactions for sanctioned entities.

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