Reports from Nobitex, Iran's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, suggest that massive amounts of money were withdrawn after the U.S. and Israel launched an unprecedented series of air strikes against Tehran, part of an ongoing war in the Middle East.On February 28, 2026, military air strikes commenced which were aimed at both Iran's Military Infrastructure and Leadership. Many civilians were killed in the attacks, including Iran's Supreme Leader – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to blockchain analytics company Elliptic, they recorded the immediate effect of the missile strikes on Nobitex, which is the largest Iranian cryptocurrency exchange (over 11 million users and $7.2 billion in transaction volume in 2025). Immediately following the initial strikes, there was a 707% increase in outflows from the exchange for an approximate total of $500,000. Elliptic created a chart that shows there was nearly $3.0 million in outflows in a single hour on February 1st. Indicating that the exchange's clients have attempted to move their digital assets off-site as fast as possible (within minutes).Cryptocurrencies could potentially provide a means for fast access to funds for crisis response. One example of this is found in Iran, where, due to sanctions and a lack of any kind of regulated banking system, the country is completely dependent upon cryptocurrencies to obtain funds quickly. <h2>Cryptocurrency Flight Domestically As a Result of Geopolitical Threats</h2> Since there has been large amounts of withdrawal activity from DEXs and CEXs due to geopolitical instability (uncertainty), we can see how international relations are able to create volatility in the movement of digital assets worldwide. Therefore, it is commonly thought that cryptocurrency serves to dampen volatility/unpredictability. <ol><li data-list="bullet">They are borderless - allowing assets to move freely between countries without requiring any local banking systems for settlement.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">They are transferred quickly - most transactions settle anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, versus days like for international wire transfers.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">They are resistant to interruptions caused by the traditional banking systems - in situations where sanctions are imposed, or where capital controls or risk of seizure exists, cryptocurrencies provide alternative solutions for preserving one's assets.</li></ol> Iranian Nobitex customers viewed the airstrikes launched against Iran (covertly by America and Israel) as posing an existential threat to their financial stability. The airstrikes caused destruction and created heightened fear of additional economic isolation, governmental instability, or asset confiscations. Elliptic's research identified significant numbers of outflows occurring through overseas exchanges with previously known Iranian inflows; thereby, indicating many Iranians used their rials to acquire cryptocurrency and transfer it offshore to avoid possible control measures.This very fast response indicates how responsive crypto markets can be on an immediate basis to what's going on. While stock markets have defined closing hours and the banking system is reliant on multiple approvals to settle transactions, the blockchain is open 24/7, which allows users to transact quickly even in a state of chaos. One example would be that January 2026 protests and sanctions imposed against Iran resulted in spikes in crypto withdrawals, so crypto became a way for people in Iran to get around restricted financial access. <img src="https://jid.rerrkvifj.com/media/customer/creatorSystem/0bfd0d61-192e-4b23-89ba-0bf54862c257.jpeg">Image by Author<h2>The Role of Internet Outages in Curbing Outflows</h2>The nationwide blackout of the internet in Iran quickly shut down further withdrawals after the explosion of early activity. This countrywide switch off was also a common method used by security agencies to minimize the free flow of information, coordination of protests and capital flight during national security crisis.<h3>The outage showed a decline in:</h3> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Exchange Platform Access: Users could not log into the platforms to initiate and confirm transactions.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Real-time blockchain confirmations: A reliable internet connection is required to interact with blockchain wallets and perform on-chain transfers.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Liquidity and speed of all withdrawals: The reduced volume of activity was a result of thinner markets, resulting in delays when processing transactions on the platform.</li></ol> Cryptocurrencies are decentralized at their respective protocols; however, their practical implementation is subject to local infrastructure. For example, Nobitex registered significant slowdowns because of connectivity challenges while TRM Labs observed close to 99% drop in Iran's total internet volume after strike action. By effectively capping capital flight, this limited activity is a far cry from previously reported unrestrained outflows (i.e., all outgoing capital was unconfined). Specifically, it demonstrates a significant weakness: even when an asset has no physical borders, there remain issues that would prevent its ability to transfer wirelessly; and The Government can also enact a form of digital quarantine on any type of asset via the network framework within which that asset operates. It was reported that Iranian trading volumes of Bitcoin had fallen by over 80% from February 27, which indicates that people have lost the ability to operate their businesses because of strike activity, and as a result have also lost money through panic, and have been unable to complete transactions.<h3>Data from Elliptic provides hard figures for the event:</h3> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Withdrawals surged more than 700% within just a few minutes after the first strike, reaching over $500,000 within an hour.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">At the peak of the event, nearly $3 million in crypto was withdrawn in less than three hours, significantly higher than what’s considered normal.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">The vast majority of funds were moved off-shore to foreign exchanges, as they were unable to move through the Iranian banks that had been sanctioned.</li></ol> The data shows how rapidly (and uniquely) crypto responded to the crisis. A traditional international transfer may take several days and is subject to unduly restrictive government review/blocks, while blockchain allows for almost instantaneous value transfer. Nobitex serves as Iran's primary provider of the rial-to-crypto on-ramp necessary for quickly converting funds and transferring them abroad. Currently, they represent about 87 percent of the total Iranian cryptocurrency trading volume. The spike in trading volume highlights the fact that volatility can create liquidity problems for crypto-exchanges as mass withdrawals may quickly deplete their liquid assets, unless these withdrawals are managed before they happen.<img src="https://jid.rerrkvifj.com/media/customer/creatorSystem/24fe66d3-57b1-4f2f-9794-30d268506567.jpeg">Image by Author <h2>Broader Implications for Regional Crypto Markets</h2>The pattern shown by this occurrence supports what has happened in other conflict or sanction driven areas. That is digital assets have become immediate means for the transfer of value when conventional fiat systems breakdown.<h3>The implications of the event are:</h3> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Increase usage as a 'safe haven': in the high-risk area’s, crypto is being widely accepted as wealth protected against the devaluation of currency or the freezing of assets.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Increase in volatility of local exchange activity: The platforms performing exchange operations certainly must deal with extreme pressures through large inflow or outflow as well as a very short window in which these situations can occur. There are also times where they must temporarily shutdown or implement tighter controls.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Increase pressure on risk management: Exchange’s must increase anti-fraud measures, Know Your Customer(KYC) compliance during times of crisis and maintain sufficient liquidity buffers to address surging volume without significant chance of failure.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">Infrastructure’s vital importance: The stability of a market directly correlates to the resiliency of the infrastructure, or lack thereof of the Internet, where a loss of electricity will have an immediate ability to disrupt even the most decentralized activity.</li></ol> In Iran, where sanctions are plentiful and crypto was once used mainly as a speculative option—for example, facilitating remittances—crypto has become something that people require. With the continual attacks from the government, there has been an increase in utilizing cryptocurrency as a method of economic recovery while at the same time exposing how to access and use cryptocurrency by citizens of the country, thereby proving that citizens are under the control of the surrounding government through the control of their ability to access crypto, thus also proving that the government owns all of the infrastructure associated with cryptocurrency. The event may cause all other countries in the region to monitor cryptocurrency movements in greater detail due to concerns about either the risk of contagion or the risk of attempting to avoid government-imposed economic restrictions.<img src="https://jid.rerrkvifj.com/media/customer/creatorSystem/3ca2ff81-288b-4649-8681-438cc953ff57.jpeg">Image by Author<h2>Lessons for Exchanges and Investors</h2>Nobitex episode contains actionable insights on their stakeholders. <ol><li data-list="bullet">1. Rapid Response Protocols: Exchanges should have contingency plans in place for withdrawal floods (i.e. stage limits, increase monitoring and increase communication transparency).</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">2. Liquidity Management: It is critical to have sufficient reserves / funding sources that are diversified in order to withstand mass outflows with no risk of insolvency.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">3. Infrastructure Reliance: Users and platform - provide redundant access to VPN (Virtual Private Network), Satellite Links, Disassociate Alternatives to reduce the effects of being blacked out.</li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">4. Geopolitical Risk Monitoring: To mitigate risk, investors in sensitive areas should incorporate/monitor conflict related news, sanctions and regime changes into their strategy and diversify their holdings &amp; have exit plans (routes).</li></ol> The speed and mobility of crypto is limited by external regulators, connectivity, and geopolitics. The scrutiny will be amplified for exchanges in sanctioned areas and investigations could stem from there form competitors in the US or globally.<h2>Conclusion</h2>The spike in users withdrawing from Nobitex after the airstrike support provided by both the USA and Israel demonstrates how cryptocurrency provides an immediate way to escape from a financial standpoint during times of geopolitical crisis. In a matter of minutes, users were able to move millions of dollars offshore without traditional barriers in place due to sanctions against Iran. The powering down of the Internet by authorities was an example of some of the limitations of technology; the shutdown of the Internet killed momentum for a short, but substantial, period of time. While some consider cryptocurrencies to be decentralized, the fact that the assets ultimately rely on centralized technology serves as a reminder to investors, exchanges, and policy makers that cryptocurrencies are both innovative and disruptive. And, as we have seen with the evolution of conflict, continuing to balance innovation and with stability will ultimately determine the success of cryptocurrencies in regions with significant risk.<h2>References</h2> <ol><li data-list="bullet"><a href="https://www.elliptic.co/blog/iranian-cryptoasset-outflows-surge-700-percent-following-attacks" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elliptic Blog: “Iranian cryptoasset outflows surge 700% following airstrikes” (March 2, 2026)</a></li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet"><a href="https://x.com/elliptic/status/2028466356148981770" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elliptic X Post on Nobitex Crypto Outflows (2026)</a></li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet">“<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/03/02/iranian-crypto-outflows-jump-700-minutes-after-airstrikes-elliptic-says" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Iranian crypto outflows jump 700% minutes after U.S.-Israeli airstrikes</a>” </li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet"><a href="https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/as-bombs-fall-on-tehran-irans-crypto" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bitcoin Magazine: “As Bombs Fall On Tehran, Iran’s Crypto Lifeline Lights Up” (March 2, 2026)</a></li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet"><a href="https://www.trmlabs.com/resources/blog/how-irans-crypto-market-is-reacting-to-conflict" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TRM Labs and Other Blockchain Analysis on Geo-Triggered Crypto Flows</a></li></ol> <ol><li data-list="bullet"><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1062940825000798" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Research on Crypto as a Safe Haven During Geopolitical Risk</a></li></ol>

Crypto outflows from Iran’s largest exchange Nobitex surged 700% within minutes of US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, signaling rapid capital flight amid escalating conflict.

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