Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx has rejected allegations from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that it has become a major channel for transferring funds from Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. According to the publication and analytics firm TRM Labs, Iranian transactions totaling $3.84 billion have passed through the platform and its affiliated entities over the past seven years.

The exchange stated that it has not engaged in commercial relationships with Iranian state entities or local trading platforms and has not provided sanctioned individuals with channels for financing.

https://twitter.com/coinexcom/status/2070044548542390722

Iranian authorities blacklisted CoinEx in 2021, and its official domain was blocked in the country. The company argues that this fact disproves its role as an official financial channel for Iran.

CoinEx also claimed it has not opened offices in Iran or hired staff for business development in the country. The platform's referral program was promoted by individual users, with the company not participating.

“We categorically reject any claims that conflate ordinary user activity with state-level sanction evasion,” CoinEx stated.

Regarding the funds stolen in the Bybit hack, CoinEx reported that it assisted the exchange in blocking an account and freezing assets immediately after the incident, and promised to conduct an internal investigation. CoinEx itself fell victim to a cyberattack in 2023, resulting in losses of about $80 million, which investigators linked to a North Korean group.

“We are fully aware of the damage that cybercrime inflicts on the crypto industry and user assets. We share the goals of global law enforcement and blockchain security organizations in combating hacking attacks and tracking stolen funds,” the exchange stated.

After sanctions were imposed against Iranian exchanges, CoinEx increased its oversight of operations in the region to prevent any actions on the platform that could violate sanction restrictions.

The company also noted that the ability to attribute transactions on the blockchain is limited and depends on the chosen analysis methodology.

What The Wall Street Journal Claims

The WSJ investigation is based on data from TRM Labs. The firm estimates that over $3.84 billion has flowed through CoinEx, its affiliated mining pool ViaBTC, and more than 60 Iranian crypto services over the past seven years.

According to their calculations, CoinEx accounts for nearly 8% of the volume associated with illegal activity, while platforms with proper compliance maintain around 0.3%.

The main flow, according to TRM Labs, occurred between CoinEx and Iran's largest exchange, Nobitex. From November 2018, over $2.7 billion was transferred between the platforms in 6.2 million transactions, averaging about $1 million per day.

By 2025, CoinEx accounted for approximately 16% of Nobitex's turnover, nearly nine times more than the next largest external counterparty. Nobitex sent about $360 million more to CoinEx than it received back, which analysts believe indicates the outflow of cryptocurrency from Iran to the global market.

CoinEx took this position after Binance. The largest exchange had been Nobitex's primary external counterparty for years but was fined by the U.S. in 2023 for servicing Iranian clients. By 2024, CoinEx replaced Binance in this role.

ViaBTC, according to TRM Labs, transferred over $154 million to Nobitex wallets as mining payouts. After the Predatory Sparrow group attacked Nobitex in 2025, the pool helped the exchange restore liquidity: 117 previously inactive mining wallets transferred about $2.7 million to the platform's new hot wallet.

Another episode involves the Central Bank of Iran. TRM Labs claims that from June 2025 to June 2026, approximately $67 million of the regulator's funds passed through a multi-layered money laundering scheme and ultimately settled on CoinEx. Analysts linked this money to $1.5 billion in assets stolen in the Bybit hack, attributed to North Korean hackers.

The report also mentions transactions involving Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani's wallets, the related exchange Zedcex, and Alireza Derakhshan, a figure in an oil scheme. The U.S. has sanctioned them, but CoinEx and the WSJ emphasize that the relevant transactions occurred before the sanctions were imposed.

After U.S. sanctions against Ramzinex, BitPin, Wallex, and Nobitex on June 2, 2026, the volume of operations between CoinEx and Iranian exchanges fell below $150,000, according to TRM Labs. However, analysts caution that they cannot yet determine if new channels for evading monitoring have emerged.

CoinEx founder and CEO Haipo Yang acknowledged in a comment to the WSJ that Iranians actively used the exchange but denied any connection to the country's authorities. Researchers cited by the publication estimate that about 13% of Iran's population owns cryptocurrency and uses it to protect savings from the devaluation of the rial.

In February 2026, Binance's management rejected similar allegations from The New York Times, WSJ, and Fortune regarding the transfer of approximately $1.7 billion to Iran-related accounts.