A new investigation reveals that blockchains established by prominent backers of a Trump family crypto venture processed billions for Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, including during the recent conflict.
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Report: Trump-Linked Blockchains Moved $2.3 Billion For Iranian Exchange
A new report alleges that blockchain networks founded by crypto billionaires Justin Sun and Changpeng Zhao—both prominent backers of a Trump family crypto venture—have served as conduits for over $2.3 billion in transactions for Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange since 2023. The transactions on Tron and BNB Chain for the Nobitex exchange reportedly continued even during the recent conflict involving the U.S. and Israel against the Islamic Republic.
"The entities doing crypto financing through these platforms are the very ones that the president is trying to defeat in the war,” John Reed Stark, a former chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Internet Enforcement, told Reuters, which first reported the findings after analyzing public blockchain data.
The data, from crypto analytics firm Arkham, shows Iran’s Nobitex exchange processed more than $2 billion on Sun’s Tron network and at least $317 million on BNB Chain since January 1, 2023. Since the war began in February, at least $22.6 million in crypto moved through Nobitex on BNB Chain and over $550,000 via Tron. The White House denied any conflict of interest, with a spokeswoman calling the report’s attempts to link President Trump to Iran’s banking system “totally laughable.”
The investigation highlights the complex entanglements between the cryptocurrency world and geopolitics, placing the Trump family’s business interests in a potentially conflicted position. Sun and Zhao’s crypto firms have been significant supporters of World Liberty Financial, the digital currency startup co-founded by President Trump and his family. A spokeswoman for World Liberty stated the company has no relationship with Nobitex and that it “does not own, operate, or control Tron in any way.”
Denials and Corporate Ties
Presented with the findings, spokespeople for both Binance and BNB Chain stated that Binance does not operate or control the BNB Chain, describing it as a "public, permissionless blockchain." However, the Reuters report, citing corporate records from Abu Dhabi, found that Zhao, Binance’s founder, is the sole listed shareholder of BNB Chain Technology Holding Limited, the entity that received the BNB Chain website's intellectual property in 2023.
A spokeswoman for Tron said it is a technology provider unable to “monitor and investigate every user and every transaction.” She added that Sun helped create an initiative that works with law enforcement and has frozen “hundreds of millions” in funds tied to sanctioned entities and terror financing. Nobitex has previously denied having direct connections to the Iranian government.
A Conduit for Sanctioned Funds
The report builds on previous findings about the role of crypto in evading Western sanctions. Reuters previously reported that about $7.8 billion in crypto flowed between Nobitex and Binance from 2018 to 2022. Nobitex has been used by sanctioned entities including Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to previous reports and crypto analysts.
Blockchain analysis company Elliptic reported that Iran's central bank purchased over $500 million of the stablecoin Tether via the Tron network between late 2024 and mid-2025, with a significant portion routed through Nobitex. The use of these networks underscores their utility for fast, low-cost transfers in regions with limited access to traditional finance, but also their potential for illicit use. In response to some of these activities, Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin, said it had frozen multiple Nobitex-associated wallet addresses at the request of Israel.
The revelations come as the Trump administration has adopted a more favorable stance toward the crypto industry. In October 2025, President Trump pardoned Zhao, wiping out his federal conviction for anti-money-laundering violations. Meanwhile, the SEC settled a fraud lawsuit against Sun for $10 million in March without an admission of wrongdoing.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] Justin Sun-Linked Tron Says It Can't 'Monitor And Investigate' Every User As Report Suggests Iran Crypto Exchange Moved Millions On Its Chain[2] How Trump’s crypto venture and Iran’s top exchange tapped into the same industry networks[3] Trump-Linked Crypto Networks Processed Billions For Iran Exchange During Conflict: Report[4] Iranian transactions flow through Tron, BNB Chain amid Trump-family crypto ventures[5] How US President Donald Trump's crypto venture and Iran's top exchange tapped into the same industry networks
