Thomas Daniels
To evade sanctions Iranian businesses are exploring measures and embracing the introduction of a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange and a non custodial cryptocurrency wallet. According to TRM Labs, a company specializing in intelligence Nobitex, Irans primary centralized crypto exchange launched two decentralized finance services in August 2023. These services include Nobidex, a cryptocurrency exchange and Locket Wallet, a non custodial crypto wallet. The intention behind these initiatives is to work around the sanctions imposed due to the countrys program.
Currently Nobidex only supports the Arbitrum sidechain. Offers trading pairs such as WBTC/USDT, LINK/USDC, ARB/USDT, WETH/USDT and WETH/USDC. However there are plans to expand its support for blockchain networks including Ethereum (ETH) BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain) Polygon (MATIC) Tron (TRX) among others. TRM Labs also highlighted that users can utilize the platform without having to go through KYC/AML procedures by connecting custodial wallets, like Trust Wallet, MetaMask or Locket Wallet.
In June 2023 Yoav Gallant, the Defense Minister of Israel made an announcement regarding the seizure of a significant amount of cryptocurrency. The confiscated funds were believed to be connected to Irans Quds Force and Hezbollah. This marked the first major crypto confiscation carried out by Israeli intelligence agencies such as Mossad, military intelligence and local law enforcement. The action was taken in response, to activities associated with Irans military sectors.
