Iran Crypto Outflows Surge After US-Israel Strikes, Report

Highlights:

• Iranian crypto exchanges saw $10.3 million outflows within hours after the February 28 strikes.
• Iran’s Nobitex exchange withdrawals jumped 700% as funds moved overseas.
• Bitcoin price faces pressure, but analysts see resilience ahead.

Iranian crypto exchanges saw a sharp surge in Bitcoin and other crypto outflows after U.S.–Israel airstrikes on Tehran on February 28. On-chain data from Chainalysis and Elliptic shows millions of dollars leaving domestic platforms as users moved assets to protect value amid rising tensions. 

Iran Sees Record Crypto Outflows After Airstrikes

Chainalysis reports that between February 28 and March 2, traders moved about $10.3 million in crypto out of major Iranian exchanges. Withdrawals surged quickly, reaching around $2 million per hour just hours after the airstrikes.

JUST IN: Iranians are buying Bitcoin and mass withdrawing it into self-custody amid the war.

Bitcoin is the flight to safety pic.twitter.com/xL4dk6OSbo

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) March 3, 2026

Elliptic found that outgoing transactions on Nobitex, Iran’s largest exchange, jumped over 700% just minutes after the first airstrike. Many of these assets moved to foreign crypto platforms, which shows that investors were seeking liquidity and protecting their funds from local financial risks. Meanwhile, TRM Labs reported that overall trading activity later dropped by about 80%, even though the broader crypto ecosystem continued to function normally.

This behavior follows patterns seen earlier during social and political stress in Iran. Traders and institutions moved crypto during internet shutdowns and sanction announcements, using digital assets as alternatives or supplements to limited banking channels. Analysts say the outflow numbers tell only part of the story. 

On-chain data shows movements in near real-time, but it does not reveal why each user acted. Some withdrawals likely come from ordinary traders and savers worried about economic instability. Others may come from exchanges or large players moving funds strategically to stay flexible amid sanctions or local restrictions.

Crypto Markets Dip After Strikes

Global investors reacted fast. Bitcoin and other major altcoins saw a sharp pullback right after the strikes. BTC briefly slipped below the $64,000 mark before bouncing back into the mid-$60,000 range. The move once again showed how quickly crypto markets react to rising geopolitical tensions. 

Ether (ETH) and several other tokens also moved lower during the sell-off. However, some assets managed to stay above their pre-strike levels. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down more than 1%, trading near $68,700. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was trading around $1,991, reflecting a 2% decline. 

Experts agreed with the optimism. Samson Mow, the CEO of Jan3, said on X that Bitcoin remained strong throughout the weekend despite the Iran uncertainty, and it seemed different from the past months as it bounced back up each time.

Not sure who else noticed, but on the weekend as war raged and uncertainty surged, Bitcoin held up incredibly well. There was downward pressure but we just bounced back up each time. It definitely feels different than from previous months.

— Samson Mow (@Excellion) March 2, 2026

The CryptoQuant analysts further added that the short-term holders “aren’t blinking,” with the sell-side pressure weakening and a shift from panic to patience. VanEck CEO Jan van Eck stated that Bitcoin is close to a bottom and that it will pick up gradually this year due to the four-year halving cycle. The JPMorgan analysts also termed the tensions as a buying opportunity.