CoinEx denies WSJ allegations of servicing $3.84 billion in Iranian transactions: situation analysis
The cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx has strongly denied recent allegations that it allegedly served as a key channel for funneling Iranian funds in circumvention of U.S. sanctions. These claims are based on data from the analytics firm TRM Labs, indicating that over the past seven years, Iranian transactions totaling approximately $3.84 billion passed through the platform and related structures.
In its official statement, CoinEx categorically denies any commercial ties with Iranian state entities or local trading platforms. The exchange emphasizes that it has never provided sanctioned individuals with channels for financing. Moreover, Iranian authorities themselves blacklisted CoinEx back in 2021, and the platform's official domain was blocked in the country. According to the exchange's management, this fact completely refutes assumptions about its role as an official financial channel for Tehran.
Details of the Allegations and the Exchange's Position
The investigation cited by the accusers is based on data from TRM Labs. According to this data, the bulk of transactions occurred between CoinEx and the largest Iranian exchange, Nobitex. Between November 2018, over $2.7 billion was transferred between the platforms in 6.2 million transactions, averaging about $1 million per day. Analysts claim that by 2025, CoinEx accounted for approximately 16% of Nobitex's turnover, significantly outpacing other external counterparties. At the same time, Nobitex sent about $360 million more to CoinEx than it received back, which is interpreted as the withdrawal of cryptocurrency from Iran to the global market.
CoinEx counters these allegations by stating that it did not open offices in Iran or hire employees to develop business in the region. The platform's referral program, according to them, was promoted by individual users, not by the company itself. "We categorically reject any claims that conflate ordinary user activity with state-level sanctions evasion," the exchange's statement reads. Moreover, after sanctions were imposed on Iranian exchanges, CoinEx strengthened its oversight of operations in the region.
Context and Consequences
Interestingly, CoinEx filled this niche after Binance was fined by the U.S. in 2023, in part for servicing Iranian clients. By 2024, CoinEx had essentially replaced Binance as the primary external counterparty for Iranian platforms. However, following U.S. sanctions against Ramzinex, BitPin, Wallex, and Nobitex on June 2, 2026, the volume of transactions between CoinEx and Iranian exchanges sharply dropped below $150,000, indicating a rapid market response to regulatory measures.
CoinEx founder and CEO Haipo Yang acknowledged in his comment that Iranians actively used the exchange but denied any connection with the country's authorities. According to researchers' estimates, about 13% of Iran's population owns cryptocurrency, using it to protect savings from the devaluation of the national currency.
My expert commentary: The situation surrounding CoinEx is a classic example of how global sanctions regimes collide with the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies. The exchange undoubtedly bears responsibility for compliance, but allegations of "state-level" sanctions evasion seem excessive. The market itself redistributes flows, and after Binance's departure, CoinEx became a "buffer zone," which inevitably attracted regulators' attention. In the long term, this will lead to stricter KYC/AML procedures on all major platforms, but completely eradicating such transactions in cryptocurrency is practically impossible.