Clarification on Iran Ties: No Business Cooperation, Blacklisted Since 2021
CoinEx issued an official statement in response to a recent Wall Street Journal report, firmly denying any commercial cooperation with Iranian government-related entities or local exchanges. The exchange stated it has never provided funding channels or active assistance to Iranian government institutions, Revolutionary Guard-related entities, or other sanctioned parties. Notably, CoinEx has been blacklisted by Iran since 2021, with its official domain blocked within the country—directly demonstrating that it is not a platform recognized, supported, or cooperated with by Iran, nor does it have the practical basis to serve as an official Iranian funding channel. CoinEx clarified that it has never established any office or operational entity in Iran. The platform operates a referral rebate system open to all global users, and some individuals have promoted CoinEx through this system spontaneously—this is not an organized action by the platform. The statement strongly opposes conflating ordinary user behavior with state-level sanctions evasion operations, and rejects any inference that on-chain fund flows equate to platform knowledge, support, or participation in illegal activities.
Details on Specific Transactions: Pre-Sanction Deals, Assistance to Bybit, and Limitations of On-Chain Analysis
Regarding the transactions involving Alireza Derakhshan and Zedcex/Zanjani mentioned in the report, CoinEx stated that based on currently available information, all relevant transactions occurred before the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on those entities. The platform does not provide services to any sanctioned entity or individual and has never knowingly facilitated any such dealings. In connection with the Bybit hack, CoinEx immediately assisted Bybit in blocking accounts and freezing assets when the incident occurred, and will conduct an internal review of the transactions mentioned in the report. The statement also disclosed that CoinEx itself suffered a cyberattack attributed by multiple investigations to a North Korea-linked organization in 2023, resulting in losses of nearly $80 million. The exchange emphasized its deep understanding of the damage caused by malicious cybercrime to the crypto industry and user assets, stating that its interests and position are fully aligned with global law enforcement agencies and on-chain security organizations in combating hacker crimes and tracing stolen funds. Any implication that the platform deliberately condones or assists hacker money laundering is not only contrary to facts but also completely against its core values and interests. Furthermore, CoinEx pointed out that blockchain transactions are open, cross-platform, and traceable, but the fact that funds once flowed through a platform does not mean the platform was aware, supported, or participated in those activities. Data from different third-party on-chain analytics platforms vary considerably, and data from any single platform should not be taken as conclusive. On-chain attribution itself has limitations, and conclusions heavily depend on interpretation. Aggregating two-way fund flows into a single total implying the amount processed by CoinEx is highly misleading.
Compliance Measures and Future Commitments: Exiting Iran Market and Strengthening AML Capabilities
After sanctions were imposed on Iranian local exchanges such as Nobitex, CoinEx immediately launched a comprehensive review and exit process for Iran-related risk exposures. The platform stated that its anti-money laundering and transaction monitoring capabilities are continuously improving, and it will continue to invest resources in strengthening KYC, AML, sanctions screening, and on-chain risk monitoring capabilities. CoinEx committed to responding to stakeholder concerns in a responsible manner and to accepting relevant institutional reviews.
