Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs says flows into Iranian crypto trading platforms fell to $3.7B from January through July 2025, down 11% from the same period last year. 

The firm links the drop to a breakdown in nuclear talks, a 12-day armed conflict with Israel that began on June 13, a $90M hack of Nobitex on June 18, and Tether’s blacklisting of 42 addresses on July 2. 

A sharp slide in June and July

Nobitex handles about 87% of Iran’s crypto trades, and the outages, security breaches and on-chain freezes drove sharp declines in June and July.

TRM reports the steepest declines came in June and July, and flows slowed most right after the Nobitex breach. Liquidity tightened, and transactions took longer to clear.

In the worst week, outflows jumped more than 150%. Much of that volume went to foreign exchanges that do little or no identity checks.

The Nobitex hack and its impact

Nobitex is the dominant exchange in Iran, and we reported that when it was hit for $90M, users lost confidence. TRM states that the attack disrupted trading and forced many people to transfer funds to smaller platforms. 

That shift raised risk for ordinary users, and some moved funds to exchanges abroad. Others tried new local options that had lower security and weaker controls.

The slowdown also followed widespread power cuts, and TRM ties those outages to a mix of Israeli operations and state actions to limit disruptions at home.

The blackouts made it harder to trade and to run exchanges. The conflict and the outages together reduced on-chain activity just as the hack hit.

Stablecoin blacklisting and user reactions

Tether carried out its largest freeze of Iranian-linked funds on July 2, and the company blacklisted 42 addresses holding USDT on the TRON network. That move pushed many users to move coins into Dai on Polygon. 

Iranian exchanges and influencers urged people to swap TRON-based USDT for other tokens. The episode showed how a single freeze can alter behaviour and trigger big flows.

Also Read: Hacker Group Exposes Nobitex Key Code On X Following $100M Hack

Why Iranians use stablecoins?

Many people in Iran use US dollar stablecoins as a store of value, and high inflation and sanctions limit access to traditional finance. Stablecoins let people protect savings and send money across borders. 

TRM says Iranians also use crypto to pay for goods from certain resellers in China, such as chips, drone parts and other electronic gear. The firm adds that crypto has been used for payments tied to espionage operations.

Moving to higher risk venues

As trust eroded, more volume flowed to high-risk foreign exchanges, and these platforms often lack strong Know Your Customer checks. That raised red flags for regulators and for firms tracking illicit finance. The move to riskier venues also increases the chance of funds being lost or stolen.

The combination of conflict, outages, a major hack, and a stablecoin freeze changed the local crypto market fast, and dominance by one exchange made the system fragile. 

When that hub was hit, the ripple effects were large, and the events also showed how on-chain actions, like freezing addresses, can reshape markets in days.

What to watch next?

The recent run of events has cut crypto flows into Iran, but has not ended the country’s reliance on digital assets. People still use stablecoins to guard against inflation and to buy goods that are hard to get by other means. 

If exchanges tighten security and if stablecoin issuers offer clearer rules, some normalcy could return. If not, trading may keep shifting to riskier channels, and users will remain exposed to loss.

Also Read: Iran’s Central Bank Limits Crypto Exchange Hours To 10 AM–8 PM After $100M Nobitex Hack