CoinEx Official Statement Regarding The Wall Street Journal Report

CoinEx has publicly responded to a recent Wall Street Journal report that raised concerns about the exchange’s ties to Iran and possible sanctions violations. In a statement released June 25, 2026, the digital asset platform categorically denied any commercial relationship with Iranian government-related entities, domestic exchanges, or sanctioned parties.

The exchange noted that it was blacklisted by the Iranian government as early as 2021, with its official domain blocked inside Iran. CoinEx said this fact alone demonstrates it is not recognized or supported by Iranian authorities and has no realistic basis to serve as an official funding channel for Iran. The company also confirmed it has never established any office or operating entity in Iran.

Regarding specific transactions referenced in the WSJ report—involving Alireza Derakhshan and Zedcex/Zanjani—CoinEx stated that those transactions all occurred prior to the U.S. Treasury Department’s designation of these entities. The exchange said it does not provide services to any sanctioned entity or individual and has never knowingly facilitated activity for any party after designation.

CoinEx also addressed the Bybit theft mentioned in the report, saying it immediately assisted Bybit with account blocking and asset freezing upon learning of the incident. The company pointed out that it itself was the victim of a cyberattack in 2023, attributed by multiple investigations to a North Korea-affiliated group, resulting in losses of approximately USD 80 million.

On the interpretation of on-chain data, CoinEx cautioned that blockchain transactions are open and traceable, but that funds passing through a platform does not imply platform knowledge or participation in illicit activity. The company said data from third-party analytics platforms varies significantly and criticized the aggregation of bidirectional fund flows into a single figure as misleading.

The exchange outlined recent measures: strengthening identification of Iranian users, refusing registrations from Iran, implementing geo-fencing and access restrictions, enhancing KYT systems, and freezing accounts of identified sanctioned entities. CoinEx committed to continuing investment in KYC, AML, sanctions screening, and on-chain risk monitoring.