Key facts
- TRM Labs claims CoinEx facilitated over $3.84 billion in crypto flows with over 60 sanctioned Iranian platforms in seven years.
- Nobitex, Iran's largest crypto exchange, was recently sanctioned by the U.S. for alleged illicit activities.
- CoinEx denies knowingly facilitating sanctions evasion, asserting its role as a neutral global platform.
- The exchange stated it has implemented measures to identify Iranian users and detect suspicious transactions.
- The U.S. Treasury recently seized $1 billion in cryptocurrency linked to Iran.
CoinEx has refuted allegations that it knowingly facilitated billions of dollars in cryptocurrency transactions for sanctioned Iranian entities. The claims stem from a report by TRM Labs, which stated that over a seven-year period, more than $3.84 billion flowed between CoinEx and over 60 Iranian platforms, including Nobitex, which was recently sanctioned by the U.S. for alleged illicit activities.
TRM Labs described CoinEx as a significant lifeline for Iran's cryptocurrency ecosystem, noting its transaction exposure to numerous Iranian entities and suggesting this connectivity was unlikely to be independent market behavior. The analytics firm also alleged that CoinEx was involved in a year-long money laundering scheme that received $67 million derived from Iran's central bank.
In response, CoinEx asserted its operation as a neutral global platform serving ordinary users worldwide, with no official ties to Iranian authorities or sanctioned entities. The exchange stated it firmly rejects any narrative that conflates ordinary user activity with state-level sanctions evasion. CoinEx also noted that it has strengthened its identification of Iranian users and implemented geo-fencing measures after Nobitex was sanctioned.
This development occurs amid increased U.S. enforcement actions against Iran's crypto market, including the recent sanctioning of Nobitex and three other exchanges, and a $1 billion cryptocurrency seizure by the U.S. Treasury.