Cryptocurrency outflows from Iran’s largest exchange surged 700% in the minutes after the first U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said in a blog post on Monday.
Elliptic said trading volumes on Nobitex surged almost immediately after the strike, indicating a rush to move money overseas. Initial blockchain traces indicate that cryptocurrencies were sent to overseas exchanges that have historically received large inflows from Iran.
Dr. Tom Robinson, co-founder and chief scientist of Elliptic, said the activity “may represent a flight of Iranian capital that bypasses the traditional banking system.”
Coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes struck multiple targets in Iran over the weekend, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and escalating the broader Middle East conflict. The attacks triggered market volatility as investors priced in possible disruptions to oil supplies in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, sending global crude prices sharply higher and triggering a broad stock market sell-off and safe-haven buying of assets.
Nobitex allows users to convert Iranian rial to cryptocurrencies and withdraw funds to external wallets, providing a way to bypass traditional banking channels.
Robinson said the exchange processed $7.2 billion in cryptocurrency transactions in 2025 and had more than 11 million users, making it the core of Iran’s digital asset ecosystem.
Elliptic has previously linked the exchange to IRGC-related financial activity, reporting in January that Iran’s central bank appeared to be using Nobitex to support the weakening rial.
Iran’s Crypto Ecosystem
Previous reports have detailed Iran’s increasing use of cryptocurrencies as a hedge against a weakening rial and as a potential solution to international sanctions, and U.S. authorities are investigating whether digital asset platforms enable state-linked actors to move funds outside the traditional banking system and acquire hard currency. Blockchain research cited in these reports estimates that Iran-related cryptocurrency activity has reached billions of dollars annually, spanning retail users as well as entities that officials say are subject to sanctions.
Robinson also pointed to a further surge in cryptocurrency outflows from Iran earlier this year. The largest of these occurred on January 9, following widespread anti-regime demonstrations and a subsequent government-imposed internet blockade.
The report states that there were two more surges in cryptocurrency volumes after the United States announced sanctions against Iranian actors, suggesting that cryptocurrencies may be used to mitigate the impact of sanctions.
Bitcoin Major altcoins fell sharply immediately after the attack, with Bitcoin briefly falling below $64,000 before recovering to around $60,000, highlighting the cryptocurrency’s sensitivity to geopolitical tensions. Ethereum (ETH) and other coins also fell, although some of them are still above pre-strike levels, suggesting a relatively quick rebound after the initial sell-off.
At press time, the world’s largest cryptocurrency was down more than 2% in price, trading at around $65,500. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 3.8% to around $1,930.
Read more: The Iran crisis shines a spotlight on the regime’s $7.8 billion crypto shadow economy
