By Elizabeth Howcroft
PARIS, March 3 (Reuters) – Outflows from Iranian crypto exchanges spiked in the hours after the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, two blockchain analytics companies said, although researchers added it was not possible to be certain what was behind the moves.
Funds leaving Iranian crypto exchanges jumped sharply to hit more than $2 million in the hour after the strikes began, U.S. blockchain research company Chainalysis said. Reuters’ first reports of the strikes were around 0615 GMT on Saturday.
British blockchain researchers Elliptic said outflows from Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, peaked at $2.89 million between 1100 and 1200 GMT on Saturday, a roughly eightfold increase compared with the previous day’s peak hourly outflows.
Overall, crypto worth $10.3 million left Iranian crypto exchanges between Saturday and Monday, Chainalysis said.
Nobitex was not available for comment.
CRYPTO’S GROWING ROLE IN IRAN
The data gives a glimpse into the growing role of crypto in Iran, where activity tends to rise sharply after geopolitical shocks, blockchain researchers say.
While estimates can differ widely, researchers say crypto transaction volumes hit $8-11 billion in 2025, as state-linked actors and retail investors alike have turned to the digital currency.
The United States is looking into whether specific crypto platforms have facilitated sanctions evasion by Iranian officials, Reuters reported in February.
IRANIANS HAVE MOVED FUNDS IN RESPONSE TO RISING RISKS
Crypto wallet addresses are pseudonymous – recorded on the blockchain as a string of letters and numbers – making it difficult to establish who is behind transactions. Chainalysis said it was not clear who had moved funds in the last few days or why.
“Some of these flows are almost certainly ordinary Iranians moving funds in response to rising risk,” Chainalysis said. “Others may be exchanges reshuffling liquidity or attempting to reduce the visibility of their operations on-chain, or state-aligned actors leveraging mainstream platforms to transfer funds.”
Elliptic said that initial tracing suggested the funds were being sent to overseas crypto exchanges, and “potentially represents capital flight from Iran”. Another U.S. blockchain research firm, TRM, said via email that the flows at Nobitex were “more indicative of activity under stress than evidence of systemic capital flight”.
Cryptocurrencies remain a small part of the global financial system, but their use is expected to grow in emerging markets with weak currencies, the International Monetary Fund has said.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Barbara Lewis)
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