United States And Israel Attack Iran As Firouz Moves Crypto Savings From Nobitex

As the United States and Israel began attacking Iran in late February, the crypto market in Tehran was already preparing for disruption, according to Al Jazeera’s account of a crypto user named Firouz.

Firouz said that “Just 12 hours before the United States and Israel began attacking Iran in late February,” he moved “all my crypto savings out of Nobitex – Iran’s largest digital asset platform” to his personal digital wallet.

Akhir Khabar

He explained his reasoning in terms of ownership and state control, saying, “My main thinking was that I could potentially be forfeiting true ownership of any money left in a state-linked or state-monitored Iranian crypto service in the event of war.”

Al Jazeera also described Iran’s crypto ecosystem as valued at “more than $7.78bn last year,” citing Chainalysis, and said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accounted for “about 50 percent of on-chain activity in the fourth quarter.”

The same report framed crypto as a way to move funds outside traditional banking, noting that “Harder to trace and easier to transfer than traditional bank payments, crypto offers a way to sell oil, buy weapons and commodities, circumventing sanctions.”

In parallel, International Business Times described the conflict as unfolding “across blockchain networks,” where “cryptocurrency is being used to move funds outside traditional banking systems while regulators respond with sanctions, wallet seizures and expanded tracing of digital transactions.”

Together, the reports depict a sanctions fight that has moved from banking rails to digital ones, with users, exchanges, and state-linked infrastructure all pulled into the contest.

The most concrete escalation described across the reporting came from U.S. sanctions that targeted Iran-linked crypto wallets and froze a specific amount of digital assets.

Al Jazeera said that “earlier this week, the US announced sanctions on a network of Iran-linked crypto wallets, freezing $344m in digital assets,” as the Trump administration tried to increase economic pressure on Iran amid negotiations to end their war.

Al Jazeera

International Business Times similarly reported that “US authorities froze roughly $344 million in crypto assets linked to Iran-associated wallets,” describing it as part of “a wider sanctions enforcement strategy aimed at restricting financial flows tied to Iran's economy and its state-linked entities.”

Both outlets tied the freeze to a stated U.S. objective, with International Business Times quoting U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: “We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,''.

Al Jazeera also included the same message on X, saying Bessent wrote, “We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,” and it placed the action within the broader role of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The Al Jazeera report further argued that OFAC classified Iran’s entire crypto ecosystem as high-risk, stating, “As a result, ordinary people’s connections with international businesses and crypto communities have been almost entirely cut off.”

It described downstream effects including “Major exchanges freeze Iranian accounts, foreign companies avoid working with counterparts inside the country, and prominent experts with relevant knowledge are unwilling to share that knowledge with Iranians,” and it added, “This is the cost ordinary people are forced to bear.”

In the same arc, the Arabic-language Al Jazeera Net report said the U.S. Treasury Department announced “freezing of about $344 million of cryptocurrency assets tied to Iran,” and described the effort as disrupting “the use of these currencies as an alternative channel to the dollar-dominated global financial system.”

Beyond wallet freezes, the reporting also points to stablecoins and specific cryptocurrency addresses as a focus of sanctions enforcement.

Incrypted reported that “The U.S. Department of the Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), updated its sanctions list related to the Central Bank of Iran, adding new cryptocurrency addresses,” and it said “this reflects the active use of stablecoins by Iranian entities to circumvent financial restrictions and facilitate fund flows linked to state and affiliated organizations.”

The same source tied the stablecoin angle to a concrete action by Tether and U.S. law enforcement, stating that “Tether, together with U.S. law enforcement, froze $344 million in USDT, which is said to have been linked to transactions via Iranian exchanges and addresses affiliated with the Central Bank.”

It included a direct statement from Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino: “USDT is not a safe haven for illicit activity.When credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks are identified, we act immediately and decisively.”

Incrypted also described the sanctions update as occurring during a “sharp escalation in the Strait of Hormuz,” and it said shipping companies received offers of “safe transit through the strait in exchange for payment in crypto assets — specifically in bitcoin or USDT.”

The report stressed that “Industry representatives stressed that such offers are fraudulent,” while analysts said cryptocurrencies—“particularly stablecoins”—may have been used as an alternative tool for receiving payments, including potential “tariffs.”

It further claimed that Chainalysis said the newly sanctioned addresses were part of “a complex money-laundering network,” and it added that intermediaries linked to Iranian entities coordinated “the purchase of more than $100 million in crypto assets tied to oil sales in 2023–2025.”

Finally, Incrypted framed the enforcement as a signal to the market, saying Chainalysis emphasized that stablecoins “are not a viable long-term tool for evading sanctions,” because blockchain transparency and cooperation with regulators make such schemes vulnerable.

The sanctions contest described in the sources also intersects with maritime trade, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz.

Al Jazeera reported that “In early April, Iranian authorities said they would ask oil ships seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz to pay a toll in cryptocurrency,” and it added that “Reports have emerged of Iran already receiving a number of payments in crypto for ships transiting through the strait.”

Anadolu Ajansı

It quoted Chainalysis analyst Kaitlin Martin, saying, “It is common for jurisdictions subject to heavy sanctions to naturally gravitate toward cryptocurrency because it provides alternative rail that gives access to finance they are otherwise restricted by sanctions,” and it described the IRGC’s role in on-chain activity as “about 50 percent of on-chain activity in the fourth quarter.”

International Business Times also connected the sanctions battle to regional instability, saying “Market activity has also reacted to regional instability,” and it described how “Bitcoin and broader crypto markets experienced sharp volatility during Iran-related geopolitical escalations.”

The Arabic-language Al Jazeera Net report went further into the policy framing, saying “Under a policy of reciprocal pressure, Tehran is turning to unconventional options, including levying charges on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz with the possibility of payment in cryptocurrencies,” and it described this as potentially reshaping trade rules toward a “digital petrodollar model.”

Incrypted, meanwhile, described scam schemes during the same escalation, saying shipping companies received offers of “safe transit through the strait in exchange for payment in crypto assets — specifically in bitcoin or USDT,” while “Industry representatives stressed that such offers are fraudulent.”

Al Jazeera also tied the maritime toll concept to the broader idea of circumventing sanctions, noting that crypto offers a way to “sell oil” and “buy weapons and commodities, circumventing sanctions.”

Taken together, the sources portray the Strait of Hormuz as both a chokepoint for trade and a stage where crypto payments, sanctions enforcement, and fraud attempts collide.

The sources also describe how U.S. pressure is intended to keep tightening, with officials linking sanctions to broader economic and security objectives.

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Bitget

Al Jazeera said that OFAC’s high-risk classification cut off “ordinary people’s connections with international businesses and crypto communities,” and it described “internet shutdowns – since the start of the war” alongside “strict internet restrictions” and “cyberattacks” that made it “more difficult to trade in cryptocurrencies.”

BitKE

It also described the IRGC’s economic footprint in crypto, saying the IRGC accounted for “about 50 percent of on-chain activity in the fourth quarter,” and it added that crypto mining is supported by “subsidised electricity,” with a Tehran-based researcher saying, “By using subsidised electricity, the IRGC engages in crypto mining and is effectively converting energy into non-sanctionable money.”

Bitget’s reposted statement attributed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Treasury Department used sanctions measures and took actions against “Iran’s international shadow banking infrastructure, cryptocurrency access channels, the shadow fleet, arms purchasing networks, regional terrorist financiers,” and it claimed these actions “disrupted tens of billions of dollars in revenue that could have been used to fund terrorism.”

In the same thread, Bitget said the maximum pressure campaign has driven “inflation in Tehran” and a rapid fall in the rial, and it asserted that Iran’s main oil export facility on Kharg Island is “approaching its capacity limit,” which would force the regime to cut oil production and cause “an additional daily loss of about $170 million.”

The Arabic-language Al Jazeera Net report described experts’ skepticism about immediate effects, saying “experts say this escalation may not yield swift effects,” while it pointed to Iran’s history of sanction circumvention and the use of “alternative financial networks and relationships with external partners, especially in China.”

It also described market behavior, saying “local platforms reporting a sharp rise in cryptocurrency withdrawals,” and it tied that to individuals moving assets in anticipation of restrictions.

Across the reporting, the “cat-and-mouse” framing is reinforced by the combination of U.S. freezes, OFAC list updates, and Iran’s use of crypto for tolls and hedging, with the next phase depending on how quickly enforcement and countermeasures adapt.