Over 1.15 million direct transfers between Binance and Nobitex, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in Iran, were visible, indexed, and traceable somewhere in the blockchain data. The transactions took place over several years. They came to billions. They dealt with a cryptocurrency that was chosen especially to allow users to hide their identities. Additionally, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world either failed to notice, didn’t look closely enough, or looked but chose not to take action for a considerable amount of time. The U.S. Justice Department is currently focusing on that final possibility.
Iran and Binance’s story didn’t come to light all at once. Like most financial scandals, it built up in small, seemingly manageable pieces that together became much more difficult to explain away. Reuters first revealed in 2022 that Binance had handled about $8 billion in Iranian transactions since 2018, the great majority of which were made between Binance and Nobitex using Tron, a relatively unknown cryptocurrency. Tron was specifically used for 75% of the Iranian funds, which was a deliberate decision.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | Binance — world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange |
| Founder / Former CEO | Changpeng Zhao (CZ); resigned following federal settlement |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Users | 120+ million globally |
| Iran-linked Transactions (2018–2022) | ~$8 billion processed via Binance, primarily through Nobitex |
| Direct Binance–Iranian Exchange Flows | ~$2.95 billion (since 2018) |
| Indirect Flows (via intermediaries) | ~$5 billion additional |
| Key Iranian Exchange | Nobitex — Iran’s largest crypto exchange (~4 million customers) |
| Primary Cryptocurrency Used | Tron (TRON/TRX) — chosen for identity-concealment features |
| DOJ Settlement Fine | $4.3 billion; Zhao imprisoned, later pardoned by Donald Trump (October 2025) |
| Current Legal Status | New DOJ investigation launched March 2026; Binance sued Wall Street Journal for defamation |
| Official Reference | reuters.com |
On its own website, Nobitex had released guidelines urging customers to trade anonymously using Tron without “endangering assets due to sanctions.” A workaround was being openly advertised in the exchange. The workaround used Binance directly.
Tron’s ability to remain undetected by the main blockchain tracking companies made it especially helpful for this purpose. Only in May 2022, years after the flows had begun, did Chainalysis, the industry-leading analytics firm utilized by US government agencies, fully support Tron tracing. When you look at that timeline, you get the impression that the people who chose Tron did so on purpose. The instruments required to keep up with the currency’s billions of movements were still lagging behind.
Over the years, Binance’s official responses have shown a consistent pattern. In July 2022, Binance released a blog post in response to Reuters’ initial concerns regarding Iranian users, stating that it adhered to international sanctions regulations and prohibited access to individuals residing in Iran. The billionaire founder of the company, Changpeng Zhao, tweeted that only seven Iranian users had been overlooked or found a workaround before being banned due to sanctions.
That tweet, which was presented as a small housekeeping issue, stood in stark contrast to data that indicated $80 million in Iranian trades were completed in the time frame following its posting. It is challenging to close the gap between the blockchain record and the public statement.
The latest disclosures are considerably more sinister. In late February 2026, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Binance had closed an internal compliance investigation into over $1 billion in transactions linked to a network that finances terrorist organizations supported by Iran. The Journal and the New York Times both reported that these transactions included cryptocurrency wallet accounts associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Workers who investigated the issue were allegedly let go. The network was permitted to continue operating. In a written response, Binance categorically denied this account, claiming that the relevant accounts had been offboarded and reported to law enforcement as a result of its ongoing investigation, which had revealed a complex multi-jurisdictional pattern of activity. The Journal’s reporting was not withdrawn. On the same day the denial was made public, Binance filed a defamation lawsuit, which is unusual for a business that has spent years maintaining that its compliance systems function as intended.
Some of these flows were made possible by an elegant architectural corridor. Layers of cryptocurrency transfers could be used by Chinese businesses wishing to buy Iranian oil, transactions that are prohibited by U.S. sanctions for any organization using the dollar system. In the middle of that system, Binance processed transactions that came through middlemen in a way that made it more difficult to determine the final origin.
Such indirect flows have long been regarded by regulators as warning signs of money laundering and sanctions evasion. At one point, Binance’s own spokesperson admitted the indirect exposure but made the somewhat inventive claim that what was important was what Binance did with the money after it arrived rather than where it came from.
According to Wall Street Journal reporting, the Justice Department’s investigation, which began in March 2026, is concentrated on money moving through the platform to networks that support terrorist organizations, including the Houthi militants in Yemen. Beyond the 2022 sanctions compliance issues, that represents a substantial escalation. As part of a previous federal settlement, Binance has already paid a $4.3 billion fine, consented to five years of external monitoring, and witnessed the resignation and imprisonment of its founder.
Donald Trump later pardoned Changpeng Zhao in October 2025, raising additional concerns about the administration’s ties to the cryptocurrency sector. The founder was pardoned. The latest inquiry. The newspaper that broke the story is being sued. It’s difficult to ignore how many of these threads remain unresolved.
The strange irony that permeates everything is that the blockchain is truthful. Every transaction is permanently recorded and accessible to anyone with the appropriate data and software. There was the trail. Before investigators started formally compiling the clues, they had been in the data for years. How much Binance knew, when it knew it, and how purposefully it decided not to follow those clues to their destination are still unknown.