Binance has facilitated $8 billion in crypto trades from Iranian users since 2018
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Binance has processed $8 billion worth of crypto transactions for Iranians since 2018 despite US sanctions. $7.8 billion of these funds moved between Binance and the largest exchange in Iran, Nobitex.
Binance has processed $8 billion worth of Iranian transactions
Three-quarters of the Iranian funds processed through the Binance exchange were for the Tron cryptocurrency according to Reuters. Last year, Nobitex published a blog post urging users to use Tron to anonymize transactions amid sanctions.
The data comes as the US Justice Department investigates Binance for money laundering. These transactions place Binance at loggerheads with US regulators because of sanctions barring companies from conducting business in Iran.
In August last year, the exchange announced that users would no longer create accounts and use services without proper identification. However, since then, Binance has processed nearly $1.05 billion worth of crypto trades from Nobitex and Iran-based exchanges. Since July this year, Binance has processed nearly $80 million in Iranian trades.
The volume of Iranian transactions running through the Binance exchange is higher than any other cryptocurrency exchange. After Binance, KuCoin is the second most popular exchange among Nobitex users. The KuCoin exchange processed $820 million in direct and indirect transactions conducted by Iranians.
Binance and crypto regulations
Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally by trading volumes. The exchange dominates the $1 trillion crypto industry. However, its large size and swift global expansion have put the exchange at loggerheads with regulators.
However, the Binance exchange has obtained several approvals in multiple countries this year, with the most recent being an approval to open another office in Ireland. Binance’s efforts to achieve regulatory compliance have also seen it make several hires, such as the recent appointment of ex-FBI agent BJ Kang, as the first head of investigations.
The Binance exchange does not operate in the US. Instead, it offers services to US customers through Binance US, which is registered with the US Treasury as a money-service business. The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, has previously said that Binance US is a fully independent entity from the main Binance exchange.
The transactions reported by Reuters related to Iranian users were mostly linked with the Binance exchange. While this exchange does not operate in the US, Binance is still at risk of secondary sanctions preventing non-US companies from conducting business with sanctioned entities.
The US Treasury Department has already started a probe into Binance. The investigation has been ongoing since 2018, with the Treasury looking into whether Binance complies with US anti-money laundering laws. According to Reuters, the Treasury was also looking into whether Binance violated sanctions in Iran.
