Blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis reported a sharp rise in crypto outflows from major Iranian platforms after the February 28 airstrikes involving the Israel Defense Forces and the United States.
On-chain records show roughly $10.3 million moved out of Iranian exchanges between February 28 and March 2.
Source: Chainalysis
This is a similar trend to previous periods when politics or security issues led to an increase in crypto activities within Iran. Market forces, sanctions, and a weak currency are pushing Iranians to use cryptos to store value in a different way.
Analysts point out that the Iranian crypto market is already large, estimated at $7.8 billion in 2025. Such activities usually increase during periods of unrest, inflation, or military conflicts.
Source: Chainalysis
Also Read: Turkey Sets 10% Crypto Tax and Adds 0.03% Levy on Exchanges
Crypto Outflow Activity Before the Airstrike News
Data from transactions reveals that the amount of money leaving the system was quite stable before the airstrikes. However, once the news of the attack went around, the number of hourly transactions increased.
In some cases, the amount exceeded or reached $2 million per hour. By March 2, the total amount of money moved since the attack was over $10.3 million.
The majority of transactions were from large local trading platforms, such as Nobitex, which is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Iran’s financial market. However, the receiving addresses were not all the same.
The money was sent to foreign exchanges, other Iranian exchanges, and many unknown addresses. This makes it difficult to determine whether the transactions were from regular users or larger players.
Three Possible Reasons Behind the Movement
There are three reasons for the sudden pattern of outflow, according to experts. First, regular people may be transferring their assets to personal self-custody wallets.
In previous waves of protests, Iranians withdrew their money to safeguard it in case the internet went down or the value of money fell. Second, local exchanges may be reorganizing their reserves.
Sanctions force Iranian exchanges to transfer their assets to new wallets to conceal them and increase security. The history of cyberattacks is also important because Iranian exchanges are often hacked by cyber attackers.
Third, state-affiliated entities such as the IRGC or similar actors could be utilizing domestic transactions as money transfer channels.
Source: Chainalysis
There have been some studies in the past that have linked regional money transfers to sanctions evasion or trading. However, it has been warned that one should be very cautious about jumping to conclusions too quickly.
Internet disruptions, exchange-controlled wallets, and the slow processing of transactions could be masking the actual activities of users.
Also Read: Nobitex Sees Sharp Crypto Outflows After U.S.–Israeli Strikes
