There was a surge in crypto withdrawals minutes after the U.S. and Israel launched targeted military airstrikes in Tehran, Iran’s capital, last Saturday.

 

In a recent post, London-based blockchain analytics company Elliptic gave a report on the aftermath of the airstrikes in Iran. Elliptic reported a significant increase in crypto withdrawals from Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange.

 

According to the firm, outgoing transaction volume from Nobitex spiked by over 700% within minutes after the first airstrike hit Tehran on Saturday, with crypto outflows reaching nearly $3 million in a single hour that same day.

 

Image credit: elliptic.co

 

 

Further tracing these funds, Elliptic reported that most of the withdrawals were sent to foreign crypto exchanges, potentially indicating intense capital flight amid uncertainty in the region.

 

"Nobitex allows rials to be converted to cryptoassets, which can then be withdrawn to any external wallet…initial tracing of recent outflows from Nobitex suggests that the funds are being sent to overseas cryptoasset exchanges," Elliptic stated.

 

Although this outflow persisted for most of that day, it fell sharply afterward, an event attributed to the nation's widespread internet outage. Yes, there was a 99% decline in internet connectivity in the country.

 

However, contrary to the "capital flight" situation being reported by Elliptic, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs seems to hold a different view and cautions against drawing a "capital flight" conclusion.

 

"It appears that the country's crypto ecosystem is not showing signs of acceleration or capital flight, but instead is experiencing a downturn in both transactions and volume as the regime enforces strict internet blackouts," TRM Labs said.

 

 

The State of Crypto in Iran

Despite ongoing unrest, the Iranian cryptocurrency economy appears to be among the largest crypto markets in the world. In 2025, over $10 billion in volume was processed, with Nobitex processing over $5 billion.

 

Iranian crypto exchanges have had to deal with massive crypto outflows, the largest of which occurred on January 9 of this year, after the nationwide demonstrations in the country.

Image credit: elliptic.co

 

To adapt to changing events, cryptocurrency exchanges in the country have had to make operational adjustments and move to risk-containment modes.

 

Wallex, a domestic crypto exchange, suspended crypto withdrawals until further notice, citing infrastructure instability. Nobitex, Aban Tether, and Ramzinex, which are all Iranian-based cryptocurrency exchanges, have also had to suspend deposits and withdrawals.

 

However, despite these challenges, cryptocurrencies and digital assets have come to the rescue of many who have had to cope with the several economic sanctions plaguing the country.