Iran’s top digital asset exchange saw a significant increase in withdrawals within minutes of the United States and Israel launching strikes in Tehran last Saturday, potentially representing capital flight from Iran.
According to a report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic on Monday, digital asset outflows from Iranian exchange Nobitex surged within minutes of the first U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, with outgoing transaction volumes spiking by 700%.
With more than 11 million users, Nobitex is the largest Iranian cryptoasset exchange and “a critical part of Iran’s cryptoasset ecosystem,” having sent or received $7.2 billion in digital asset transactions in 2025. The platform has also been linked to money laundering and sanctions evasion by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
The Elliptic report suggested that the surge in outflows on the platform may represent capital flight from Iran, with Iranians converting rials (the country’s national currency) into cryptoassets that can then be withdrawn to external wallets.
“This allows funds to be moved out of Iran while avoiding some of the scrutiny of the global banking system,” said Elliptic. “Initial tracing of recent outflows from Nobitex suggests that the funds are being sent to overseas cryptoasset exchanges that have historically seen significant inflows from Iran.”
After the spike, digital asset outflows from Nobitex fell dramatically, which another blockchain analytics firm, TRM Labs, put down to the Iranian regime enforcing strict internet blackouts.
“After U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, observers reported wide internet outages impacting the ability to actively trade or participate in crypto markets in Iran – contracting the market overall,” said TRM Labs.
Iran’s internet connectivity reportedly fell by approximately 99% shortly after the conflict erupted. The Iranian state has been known to enforce internet blackouts as a response to perceived emergencies, such as the recent social unrest and mass protests.
The TRM Labs report suggested that this latest internet clampdown effectively stymied any capital flight that may have been happening in the aftermath of the first attacks.
“It appears that the country’s crypto ecosystem is not showing signs of acceleration or capital flight, but instead experiencing a downturn in both transactions and volume as the regime enforces strict internet blackouts,” said TRM Labs. “Major domestic exchanges remained operational but moved into risk containment mode, suspending or batching withdrawals, reducing market depth, and issuing risk guidance — signaling infrastructure stress management.”
Iran’s digital asset ecosystem has grown substantially in recent years, reaching over $7.78 billion in 2025 as both citizens and the Security Forces seek to mitigate and circumvent international sanctions and an economic crisis.
According to a report published in January by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, Iran’s digital asset activity showed significant spikes that corresponded to several major domestic and geopolitical events over the past couple of years, including the Kerman bombings in January 2024, Iran’s missile strikes against Israel in October 2024, and the 12-day Iran–Israel war in June 2025.
Thus, the most recent spike in response to the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran—while significant in its scale—is not uncharacteristic of the country’s erratic digital asset ecosystem.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/us-israel-airstrikes-trigger-700-surge-in-iran-crypto-outflows/
