TRM: CoinEx Processed $3.84B Linked to Iranian Entities

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reported that Seychelles-based exchange CoinEx processed $3.84 billion in flows linked to more than 60 Iranian entities from 2019 through mid-2026. TRM described CoinEx as functioning as an international gateway for Iran-linked crypto activity.

TRM traced about $2.7 billion of the total volume to Nobitex, Iran’s largest domestic crypto exchange. The firm’s analysis found Nobitex sent roughly $360 million more to CoinEx than it received back, a pattern TRM described as routing cryptocurrency out of Iran to access international liquidity and markets.

The report states that every major Iranian exchange routes about 5% to 15% of its total transaction volume through CoinEx. TRM added that smaller, less well-known platforms also maintain direct exposure to the exchange.

CoinEx’s affiliated mining pool, ViaBTC, increased the exchange’s exposure. TRM traced more than $154 million in mining payouts linked to Nobitex and reported that ViaBTC provided emergency liquidity to Nobitex after a major cyberattack in 2025.

TRM identified roughly $67 million that flowed from the Central Bank of Iran into CoinEx between June 2025 and June 2026 as part of what the firm describes as a multi-chain laundering scheme.

The report also flagged interactions between CoinEx and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and reported links with sanctioned Russian entities. TRM traced funds from a large exchange hack, attributed to North Korean actors, into CoinEx via Iranian wallets.

CoinEx was founded in 2017. TRM noted the exchange has faced regulatory actions including a New York attorney general lawsuit, a German investigation and a ban in Thailand. The firm added that CoinEx is no longer registered with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or Lithuania’s financial crimes unit.

On June 2, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control designated four Iranian exchanges, including Nobitex, for facilitating sanctions evasion and illicit finance. CoinEx was not among the entities designated.

Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, wrote in the report: “OFAC's June 2 designations took out 78% of Iran's domestic crypto volume in a single action — but the international infrastructure that enabled that ecosystem remains largely intact. Enforcement and policy now need to grapple with the international gateways, not just the domestic exchanges.”

TRM recommended that enforcement and policy efforts widen their focus from domestic Iranian platforms to the international on- and off-ramps that move funds across borders. TRM’s findings are based on blockchain tracing techniques used to map transaction flows and identify recurring patterns linking Iranian platforms and CoinEx.

CoinEx did not respond to requests for comment accompanying TRM’s release.