How Iran Bankrolled Its War Through Trump's Crypto World
A Reuters investigation has revealed that Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange funneled at least $2.3 billion through the same digital networks that power Donald Trump's crypto empire and kept doing it even as American and Israeli forces were at war with Tehran.
As the United States and Israel were conducting military strikes against Iran, the Islamic Republic's most powerful institutions, including its central bank and the Revolutionary Guards, were quietly moving billions of dollars through blockchain networks whose founders are among the most prominent backers of President Trump's own cryptocurrency venture.
According to data analyzed by Reuters, Iran's largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, processed at least $2.3 billion since 2023 on two blockchain networks, Tron and BNB Chain, established respectively by crypto billionaires Justin Sun and Changpeng Zhao. Both men are prominent backers of World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm co-founded by Trump and his family. Iranian money continued flowing through those digital ledgers even during the U.S. and Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.
How the Money Moved
The mechanics are straightforward. Sanctioned Iranian entities, including Iran's central bank and the Revolutionary Guards, deposit funds into Nobitex accounts. Those funds are then converted into USDT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, and routed through the Tron and BNB Chain networks. From there, they can reach Chinese trading companies, arms suppliers, and other intermediaries anywhere in the world, who receive the stablecoins directly and cash out through exchanges in their own jurisdictions.
Since the Iran war started, crypto worth at least $22.6 million moved through Nobitex on BNB Chain alone, with a further $550,000 via Tron. Analysts warned that even these figures are likely a significant undercount, since Nobitex regularly rotates wallet addresses specifically to make tracing harder.
The Trump Connection
The political dimensions of the story are uncomfortable. Trump and his three sons now have around $1 billion tied to World Liberty Financial. The venture's largest business partner in blockchain infrastructure is Binance, which previously pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting, and sanctions violations regarding Iran.
In October 2025, Trump granted a presidential pardon to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who is also the sole listed shareholder of BNB Chain Technology, the entity behind the BNB Chain network used by Nobitex. Justin Sun, Tron's founder and another key World Liberty backer, has since fallen out with the Trump venture; the two sides are currently suing each other.
John Reed Stark, former head of internet enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, called the situation a sharp conflict of interest, saying the entities moving crypto through these platforms are "exactly those the president is trying to defeat in the war."
The Denials
All parties pushed back firmly. A spokeswoman for World Liberty said the company has no relationship with Nobitex and follows U.S. law, adding that it "does not own, operate, or control Tron in any way, and has no authority over transactions conducted on it." The White House called Reuters' framing "completely ridiculous." A spokeswoman for Tron said it is a technology provider unable to monitor every user and transaction, though it works with law enforcement and has frozen hundreds of millions in funds tied to sanctioned entities.
A spokeswoman for BNB Chain described it as a public, open blockchain maintained by an independent global community of validators, not an exchange, not a company, and not Binance.
The Bigger Picture
Senator Elizabeth Warren was blunt in her assessment: "This latest reporting is a flashing red light. Adversaries are using digital assets as an alternative to the U.S.-led global financial system, moving billions easily because too many services across the crypto ecosystem lack basic controls to prevent money laundering and sanctions evasion."
There is a final, particularly sharp irony buried in the mechanics of the scheme. USDT, the stablecoin at the center of Iran's financial workaround, is backed primarily by U.S. Treasury bills. Tether, the company that issues it, holds more than $122 billion in American government debt as its primary reserve. In other words, U.S. debt is helping underwrite one of Iran's most important financial tools in its war against America.
Nobitex has not been formally sanctioned by the United States or its allies. No evidence has emerged that the Trump family had any knowledge of the Iranian flows through these public networks. But in a war being fought simultaneously on battlefields, in orbit, and in cyberspace, the financial front has just become considerably more complicated.