Nobitex
Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, handling over half of the country's digital-asset inflows in 2025 and serving as a key stablecoin rail for the Central Bank and IRGC.
Last refreshed: 3 June 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How did OFAC's Nobitex designation sever Iran's Central Bank stablecoin lifeline in a single day?
Timeline for Nobitex
Iran's rial rises for a war-first time
Iran Conflict 2026Designated and cut off from dollar access
Iran Conflict 2026: Treasury freezes Iran's four crypto exchanges- What is Nobitex and why was it sanctioned by the US?
- Nobitex is Iran's largest Cryptocurrency exchange, handling over half of the country's 2025 digital-asset inflows. OFAC designated it on 2 June 2026 under Executive Orders 13224 and 13902 for serving as a stablecoin rail for the Central Bank of Iran and supporting IRGC financial networks.Source: US Treasury / OFAC
- How did Nobitex help Iran evade sanctions?
- Nobitex functioned as the primary stablecoin channel through which Iran's Central Bank attempted to defend the rial on the open market, allowing it to access dollar-pegged digital assets despite conventional banking sanctions.Source: US Treasury
- Who founded Nobitex and what is their connection to the Khamenei family?
- Nobitex was co-founded by Amir Hossein Rad and members of the Kharrazi family, who sit inside Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's inner circle. Two Kharrazi family members were designated by OFAC alongside the exchange on 2 June 2026.Source: OFAC
- What happened to Iran's rial after the Nobitex sanctions?
- The rial had hit a record low of 1,746,000 to the dollar on 1 June 2026 before recovering slightly to 1,716,000 by 3 June. The Nobitex designation removed the Central Bank's primary stablecoin defence tool in the same week.Source: Alanchand
Background
Nobitex was designated by OFAC on 2 June 2026 under Executive Orders 13224 and 13902 alongside its chairman Amir Hossein Rad and two members of the Kharrazi family, who sit inside the Supreme Leader's inner circle. The US Treasury's Economic Fury campaign said the four exchanges it froze that day had collectively handled well over half of Iran's 2025 digital-asset inflows, with Nobitex commanding the dominant share. Treasury simultaneously offered up to $15 million through Rewards for Justice for information disrupting IRGC financial networks.
Nobitex was founded with involvement from Kharrazi family members close to Mojtaba Khamenei, giving it effective protection from domestic regulatory pressure. Beyond retail trading, Nobitex served as the primary stablecoin rail through which the Central Bank of Iran attempted to defend the rial on the open market; that channel was severed by the designation in the same week the rial had hit a record 1,746,000 to the dollar.
The designation makes Nobitex one of the highest-profile crypto platforms ever sanctioned in a live conflict. Its removal from the stablecoin rail removes a key tool the Central Bank had used to dampen exchange-rate volatility, compounding the economic pressure of the wider Iran-conflict sanctions regime.
