Iran crypto outflows surge 700%…moved to overseas exchanges right after airstrikes

Crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) outflows from Iran surged immediately after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, according to findings.

According to crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) news outlet CoinDesk on the 2nd, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said that “within minutes of the first airstrikes last weekend, outbound transactions from Iran’s largest exchange Nobitex spiked 700%.”

Elliptic added that it detected indications the funds leaving Nobitex were moved to overseas exchanges. Those overseas exchanges are known to have previously seen substantial inflows of Iran-origin funds.

Dr. Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s co-founder and chief scientist, said the move “could indicate capital flight that bypasses the traditional financial system.”

Nobitex is a platform that supports converting Iranian rials into crypto assets and withdrawing them to external wallets. According to Elliptic, Nobitex processed about $7.2 billion in transactions in 2025 alone, with more than 11 million users, and is regarded as a core exchange in Iran’s crypto ecosystem.

Elliptic has previously raised the possibility that the exchange may have been linked to financial activity associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and in January there were also signs that Iran’s central bank used Nobitex to defend the weakening rial.

In Iran, the use of crypto assets has expanded amid the rial’s depreciation and as a means of circumventing international sanctions. Elliptic said that large-scale crypto outflows also occurred immediately after anti-government protests on Jan. 9 and the government’s subsequent internet shutdown measures. It also said there were two similar spikes immediately after U.S. announcements of sanctions on Iran.

Meanwhile, right after the airstrikes, Bitcoin (BTC) briefly fell below $64,000 before rebounding to the mid-$65,000 range.