CoinEx Denies Ties to Iran, Says It Strictly Manages Sanctions and Money-Laundering Risks

CoinEx denied working with Iranian government-linked entities or local Iranian exchanges, pushing back on a Wall Street Journal report.

Crypto media outlet Odaily reported on June 25 that CoinEx said in a statement it does not provide services to sanctioned entities or individuals and has never knowingly facilitated activity for parties subject to sanctions.

CoinEx is a global cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017 by ViaBTC founder Haipo Yang. The statement came after the Wall Street Journal cited transactions involving Alireza Derakhshan and Zedcex/Zanjani.

Derakhshan is under U.S. sanctions over allegations that he processed proceeds from Iranian crude oil sales through cryptocurrency. Zedcex is a digital-asset exchange alleged to be linked to Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, who was previously sanctioned by the U.S. for his role in Iran's sanctions-evasion network.

Based on the information it has reviewed so far, CoinEx said the transactions in question occurred before the U.S. Treasury sanctioned those parties. It also said it has never had any commercial relationship with Iranian government-linked institutions or local Iranian exchanges, and has never provided funding channels or active support to Iranian government agencies, entities tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or any other sanctioned party.

CoinEx also said it was placed on an Iranian government blacklist in 2021 and that its official domain was blocked in Iran. The exchange said this shows it is not a platform recognized, supported or used in cooperation with the Iranian government, and that there is no practical basis for it to serve as an official Iranian funding channel.

The company said it has never maintained an office or operating entity in Iran. While some individuals promoted CoinEx on their own, those efforts were not organized by the exchange.

CoinEx said it firmly rejects narratives that conflate ordinary user activity with state-level sanctions evasion. It also rejected the inference that on-chain fund flows alone should be treated as evidence that a platform knew of, supported or participated in illegal activity.

Regarding the Bybit hack, CoinEx said it helped block accounts and freeze assets immediately after the incident. It added that it will conduct an internal review of the transactions referenced in the report.

CoinEx said it began a full review of its exposure to Iran-related risks and started a withdrawal process after local Iranian exchanges, including Nobitex, were sanctioned. As part of that effort, it is rejecting new user registrations from Iran, strengthening screening for Iranian users, and continuing compliance-driven offboarding of confirmed Iranian accounts.

It also said it is imposing geographic access restrictions on Iran and will restrict or freeze the accounts and assets of confirmed sanctioned entities or individuals. CoinEx added that it has strengthened its know-your-transaction, or KYT, system to monitor transactions tied to sanctioned jurisdictions, high-risk addresses and unusual on-chain routes, and to freeze assets when necessary.

CoinEx said it places a high priority on compliance, anti-money-laundering controls and sanctions risk in the digital-asset industry. The company added that it has a responsibility to provide users and partners with clear and objective answers.