Probe links Iranian crypto exchange to regime

TLDR

An investigation says Irans largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, has deep links to the ruling elite and has handled flows for sanctioned state entities, which the exchange denies.

1. Reuters-linked reporting identifies Nobitexs founders as members of the influential Kharrazi family, which has longstanding ties to Irans supreme leaders.
2. Blockchain analytics firms say Nobitex processed tens to hundreds of millions of dollars tied to sanctioned bodies like the central bank and the IRGC, highlighting cryptos role in sanctions evasion.
3. Nobitex is not currently sanctioned, but US authorities are explicitly targeting Irans crypto channels, so further designations would be a key risk to watch.

Deep Dive

1. What The Probe Actually Found

Reuters reporting, summarized by outlets such as Cointelegraph and Crypto.news, says Nobitex was founded by brothers Ali and Mohammad Kharrazi, who initially used the surname Aghamir in corporate records to obscure links to the powerful Kharrazi family, which has close ties to Irans supreme leaders and security establishment.

The Kharrazi family is described as having roles in the Assembly of Experts and in staffing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after the 1979 revolution, tying Nobitexs founders to regime insiders rather than purely private entrepreneurs.

Nobitex, which claims over 11 million users and roughly 70% of Irans crypto volume, rejects any state ownership, stating it is a private, independent business with no contracts with the central bank or IRGC and that any illicit activity is a small portion of total flow.

2. Use In Sanctioned Flows

Analytics firms Elliptic, Chainalysis, and Crystal Intelligence cited by Cointelegraph estimate Nobitex-related transactions with sanctioned Iranian entities in a wide range, from about $22 million up to $366 million, reflecting both different methodologies and data sets.

Wallets associated with Irans central bank reportedly sent hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto, largely stablecoins, to Nobitex in 2025, allegedly to bypass banking restrictions, while some flows were linked to IRGC-tied wallets.

During recent US and Israeli strikes on Tehran, Nobitex reportedly saw withdrawal volumes spike more than 700 percent within minutes, as users moved millions of dollars off the platform, underscoring its role as a pressure-release valve for both ordinary Iranians and state-linked actors.

3. Regulatory Risk And Next Steps

Separately, US Treasury officials have said they are now explicitly targeting Irans access to crypto as part of the Economic Fury sanctions campaign, and report seizing or freezing nearly $500 million in Iranian-linked digital assets.

Although Nobitex and its founders have not been sanctioned at this time, the combination of political lineage and analytics evidence makes the exchange an obvious candidate for future OFAC scrutiny, which could result in exchanges and stablecoin issuers blocking associated wallets.

Conclusion

The probe paints Nobitex not just as Irans dominant retail crypto platform, but as an infrastructure piece that overlaps with regime finance and sanctions evasion, even as the company denies state control.

With Washington now treating crypto rails as part of its Iran pressure toolkit, the main uncertainty is whether Nobitex itself, or more of its wallets, become formally sanctioned, which would significantly reshape how global platforms interact with Iranian crypto flows.