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The US Treasury issued sanctions against Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency platform, on Tuesday, targeting a sector that has experienced a surge in activity since the Middle East war began in February.
American officials alleged that Nobitex processed more than 50 per cent of all Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025, facilitating payments tied directly to government operations, sanctions evasion efforts, and transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Treasury also slapped sanctions on two other Iranian digital asset exchanges, Wallex and Bitpin, as well as Nobitex’s current CEO and three co-founders.
The United States and Israel launched the war on Iran in late February, triggering regional violence and Iranian retaliatory strikes against Washington’s allies.
According to TRM Labs, Nobitex handled roughly $5 billion in transactions from 2025 to March 2026, while Bloomberg estimated the country’s entire crypto market at around $7.8 billion in March.
Experts note that digital asset platforms allow users to circumvent sanctions placed on the Revolutionary Guards and provide a financial haven for civilians suffering from soaring inflation.
Because US and European sanctions cut Iran off from the global financial system years before the war, cryptocurrency has offered a crucial alternative path for citizens and businesses looking to transact with the outside world.
