TRM Labs said in a new report that $3.84 billion in Iran-linked crypto moved through CoinEx between 2019 and 2026. The blockchain analytics firm said it tracked transactions tied to both the Central Bank of Iran and the Iranian exchange Nobitex, with the funds passing through a network of intermediary wallets before reaching CoinEx.
That routing structure matters. According to the report, the use of multiple wallets made direct tracing harder and gave users a way to reach deeper international liquidity and access the global crypto market despite sanctions.
Nobitex-CoinEx flows reached a yearly high of $763 million
TRM Labs said transaction volume between Nobitex and CoinEx climbed to $763 million in a single year, a figure the report described as one of the clearest signs of the relationship between the two exchanges. In the report, Nobitex was portrayed as the main departure point for assets leaving Iran, while CoinEx served as the venue where those assets linked up with broader international markets.
By 2024, the report suggests CoinEx had become Nobitex’s largest foreign counterparty. Binance reportedly held that position earlier, but its connection with Nobitex weakened after Binance tightened sanctions controls and compliance procedures, leaving CoinEx in a more prominent bridging role.
Sanctions scrutiny shifts attention to exchange controls
CoinEx was founded in 2017 by Haipo Yang and is headquartered in Seychelles. The exchange has said it adopted stricter KYC procedures in recent years and restricted access for users based in Iran. Even so, TRM Labs said the historical scale of flows between Iranian entities and CoinEx remained significant.
The issue drew sharper attention on June 2, 2026, when US authorities sanctioned Nobitex, alleging links to groups including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. TRM Labs also said it identified more than 60 Iranian organizations connected to those crypto flows.
Compliance spending is becoming harder for exchanges to sideline
The report’s broader takeaway is that compliance and regulatory oversight are now central concerns for crypto exchanges. As sanctions pressure builds, exchanges that commit more resources to transaction monitoring, identity checks, and institutional controls face less user risk.
TRM Labs also said recent sanctions waves are shifting how platforms are judged. Fees and product range still matter, but trust, transparency, and risk management are drawing closer scrutiny in exchange selection.