Following a severe exploit in June that resulted in a loss of $90 million, Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is gradually re-establishing its services. The hack, reportedly carried out by a pro-Israel group known as Gonjeshke Darande, targeted the leading exchange in the country.
Nobitex is currently only accessible to verified users, as the company confirmed. Yet, key services such as withdrawals, deposits, and trading are still on hold. Earlier, Nobitex indicated it would resume withdrawal services by June 30, however, the timeline is subject to change.
Along with the financial damage, Gonjeshke Darande also claimed to have shared parts of the platform’s source code, amplifying the harm to Nobitex. Speculations by TRM Labs suggest that Israel could have utilized the stolen data from Nobitex to apprehend Iranian agents within Israel who were receiving payments in cryptocurrency.
As a response to the compromise, Nobitex announced the migration of users’ wallets, making deposits to existing wallets invalid. The exchange significantly exceeds its Iranian counterparts in terms of total inflows, boasting $11 billion compared to the $7.5 billion combined of the next ten largest exchanges, as per Chainalysis.
The research firm has associated Nobitex with a variety of illicit actors, including ransomware operators affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and sanctioned Russian crypto exchanges. Cryptocurrency usage in Iran, like in Russia, is frequently linked with evasion of global monetary sanctions.
Amir Rad, CEO of Nobitex, stated that the investigation into the breach implied Israeli government involvement, while maintaining that Nobitex operates as a private entity without any ties to the Iranian state or military.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational use only and does not constitute legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
