TLDR
- Nobitex, Iran’s dominant cryptocurrency platform, experienced withdrawal volumes jump by 700% moments after military airstrikes targeted Tehran on Saturday.
- Withdrawal activity reached almost $3 million within a single 60-minute period, with significant portions transferred to international platforms.
- Analysis firm Elliptic characterized the movements as possible “capital flight,” though TRM Labs attributed reduced activity primarily to nationwide internet disruptions.
- National internet access plummeted approximately 99% following the start of hostilities, disconnecting the vast majority of Iranian users.
- The exchange and other Iranian crypto platforms subsequently went dark, with blockchain records indicating frozen outbound transfers from Nobitex’s Ethereum wallet.
Iran’s premier cryptocurrency trading platform witnessed an extraordinary surge in user withdrawals moments after military airstrikes struck Tehran on Saturday.
Nobitex, commanding approximately 87% of Iranian crypto trading volume, registered withdrawal increases exceeding 700% almost instantaneously following initial strikes. The exchange facilitated roughly $7.2 billion in trading activity for over 11 million registered users throughout 2025.
Blockchain intelligence company Elliptic documented that withdrawals exceeded $500,000 in the initial minutes, subsequently escalating to approximately $3 million during a one-hour window later that same day.
According to Elliptic’s preliminary tracking, substantial portions of these funds were transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges outside Iran. The company indicated this “potentially represents capital flight from Iran” and enables money to leave the nation while circumventing traditional banking oversight systems.
This assessment didn’t receive universal acceptance.
Competing blockchain forensics provider TRM Labs characterized the withdrawal surge as temporary and blamed the subsequent decline on state-mandated internet shutdowns rather than widespread capital evacuation.
Iran’s online connectivity collapsed by roughly 99% immediately following the outbreak of hostilities, TRM Labs reported. The company concluded that Iran’s cryptocurrency sector wasn’t demonstrating capital flight patterns, but rather experiencing a “downturn in both transactions and volume.”
Exchange Outages and On-Chain Slowdowns
By March 2, blockchain monitoring service Chainalysis confirmed that multiple Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, including both Nobitex and Ramzinex, had ceased operations.
These disruptions may stem from government-mandated connectivity restrictions or potential physical damage to infrastructure caused by bombing campaigns.
Blockchain records highlighted by Arkham Intelligence revealed that Nobitex suspended outbound transfers from its Ethereum wallet throughout the 48-hour period after the strikes occurred.
Transactions on the TON network through the platform persisted, although analysts identified patterns suggesting automated bot operations. Dogecoin currently represents the most substantial asset stored on the Nobitex platform.
Iran’s Fragile Financial Backdrop
Cryptocurrencies have historically functioned as critical financial instruments for Iranian citizens managing the nation’s volatile banking infrastructure and international economic restrictions.
During October 2025, Ayandeh Bank, among Iran’s most prominent private financial institutions, declared bankruptcy following $5.1 billion in accumulated losses and approaching $3 billion in outstanding obligations. This failure impacted over 42 million account holders.
Iran’s monetary authority had previously cautioned that eight additional domestic banks faced potential closure without implementing significant structural changes.
Nobitex experienced an $81 million security breach in June 2025. The platform has also faced allegations of connections to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was purportedly utilized by Iran’s Central Bank for rial currency support operations.
The Tehran airstrikes catalyzed the withdrawal surge as tensions among the United States, Israel, and Iran continued intensifying throughout the weekend.
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