Millions of dollars in crypto left Iranian exchanges after strikes

PARIS: Outflows from Iranian crypto exchanges spiked in the hours after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, two blockchain analytics companies said, although researchers added it was not possible to be certain what was behind the moves.

Funds leaving Iranian crypto exchanges jumped sharply to hit more than USD2 million in the hour after the strikes began, US blockchain research company Chainalysis said. Reuters’ first reports of the strikes were around 0615 GMT on Saturday.

British blockchain researchers Elliptic said outflows from Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, peaked at USD2.89 million between 1100 and 1200 GMT on Saturday, a roughly eightfold increase compared with the previous day’s peak hourly outflows.

Overall, crypto worth USD10.3 million left Iranian crypto exchanges between Saturday and Monday, Chainalysis said.

Nobitex was not available for comment.

The data gives a glimpse into the growing role of crypto in Iran, where activity tends to rise sharply after geopolitical shocks, blockchain researchers say.

While estimates can differ widely, researchers say crypto transaction volumes hit USD8-11 billion in 2025, as state-linked actors and retail investors alike have turned to the digital currency. The United States is looking into whether specific crypto platforms have facilitated sanctions evasion by Iranian officials, Reuters reported in February.

Crypto wallet addresses are pseudonymous - recorded on the blockchain as a string of letters and numbers - making it difficult to establish who is behind transactions. Chainalysis said it was not clear who had moved funds in the last few days or why.

“Some of these flows are almost certainly ordinary Iranians moving funds in response to rising risk,” Chainalysis said.