Blockchain analysis company TRM Labs stated that due to the breakdown of nuclear negotiations with Israel, a $90 million hack on Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and sanctions blacklisting major stablecoins, the funds flowing into Iranian cryptocurrency trading platforms decreased in 2025.
TRM Labs reported on Tuesday that from January to July, the flow of cryptocurrency funds into Iran reached $3.7 billion, an 11% decrease compared to the same period last year, with the most significant declines occurring in June and July.
The flow of cryptocurrency funds into Iran sharply declined starting in June, right after Nobitex, which handles 87% of the country's cryptocurrency transactions, suffered a $90 million hack.
Many Iranians rely on dollar-pegged stablecoins as a means of storing value to cope with soaring inflation and evade severe sanctions that largely isolate the country from the global economy.
Following the security breach at Nobitex, confidence in Iranian virtual asset service providers (VASPs) deteriorated. The attack was carried out by the pro-Israel group Predatory Sparrow on June 18, when tensions between Iran and Israel peaked.
TRM stated that while Nobitex continues to dominate Iran's cryptocurrency trading volume, this incident disrupted liquidity, slowed transaction processing, and temporarily pushed users to alternative platforms.
The escalating Iran-Israel tensions further amplified capital outflows, surging over 150% in the worst week, with a significant portion of the funds flowing to high-risk foreign exchanges that have little to no know-your-customer (KYC) checks, TRM noted.
Stablecoin issuer Tether also implemented the largest-ever freeze of Iran-related funds, blacklisting 42 cryptocurrency addresses holding Tether (USDT) balances on July 2.
This incident prompted Iranian exchanges, influencers, and state-supported channels to coordinate efforts to push users to sell their TRON-based USDT balances—the most widely used network and token in Iran—and transfer funds to Dai (DAI) on Polygon.
TRM indicated that many ordinary Iranians continue to use cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation, highlighting Iran's strong reliance on stablecoins.
TRM pointed out that Iran is still relying on cryptocurrency to purchase sensitive goods from Chinese chip dealers, including hardware critical to artificial intelligence, drone components, and other electrical equipment—enabling it to effectively bypass sanctions.
The crypto analytics firm added that Iran is also using cryptocurrency to fund payments for espionage activities with foreign agents.
However, illegal cryptocurrency trading in Iran still accounts for less than 1% of total trading volume.
Related: Arkham: UAE Holds $700 Million in Bitcoin (BTC) Through Mining Operations
Original article: “TRM Labs: Iran's Cryptocurrency Flows Decline 11% Due to Israel Conflict and Nobitex Hack”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
