The Islamic regime has readily pointed to Western sanctions for its economic crisis, with the rial valued at 1,283,540 per US dollar amid a bustling black-market economy supported by cryptocurrency. Snir Levi, CEO of NOMINIS, explained that oil sales to Russia and China help the regime sustain income using cryptocurrency. The funds are laundered in second countries, with Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar named as transit spots before the money reaches proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen.
“Iran is under siege, and Gaza is also under siege,” he explained, stressing the regime’s dependence on these sympathetic states. “The industry of cryptocurrency in Gaza has been flourishing since October 7, since there is no other option to move funds,” he continued. “We estimate that the amount incoming and outgoing over the year has exceeded $100 million in cryptocurrencies.” The majority of crypto funds reaching Gaza are coming through Binance, Levi said. Documents released by Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing revealed that hundreds of crypto accounts at Binance have been seized over the past few years.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who is currently being sued by the families of American October 7 victims and hostages, has been accused of knowingly enabling Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to move more than $1 billion through its platform, including more than $50m. Despite Zhao pleading guilty to anti-money-laundering violations in connection with Binance in 2023, US President Donald Trump pardoned him in October. Dennis Citrinowicz, a senior researcher in Iran and the Shi’ite Axis Program at the Institute for National Security Studies, explained to the Post that while sanctions have had a sustained impact on the Islamic regime’s economy, especially its energy sector, it didn’t alter “the strategic policy of Tehran regarding core issues like nuclear or missile development.” The effectiveness of Western sanctions has continued to be challenged by the regime, Citrinowicz explained. Sanctions are “a constraint mechanism, not a coercive silver bullet to topple the Iranian regime.”
Charlotte Cobb, head of content for NOMINIS, told the Post that the idea that crypto is “untraceable” is a misconception and that the organization is capable of tracking and tracing funds. Using sources exclusive to NOMINIS, open-source intelligence, behavior intelligence, social media observation, and transactional information available on the blockchain, Cobb said it was indeed possible to identify who is behind the wallets. Cobb explained that while Telegram is blocked in Iran, the IRGC has used the encrypted platform with a VPN to solicit funds from Westerners, sometimes unknowingly, and contact targets in Israel. “It’s possible to send out many feelers at a low cost, to throw many messages to many possible targets with simple lures, and eventually find somebody willing to do small tasks,” she explained, mentioning the recent case of Fares Abu al-Hija, who was indicted by the Haifa District Court for allegedly spying on former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
The 32-year-old was allegedly contacted by a foreign agent on Telegram in October 2025 and was said to have maintained contact until last month. The agent was said to have paid Hija using cryptocurrency payments through Binance for carrying out tasks. As part of the assignments, Hija was said to have purchased and concealed mobile phones and a charger at several locations in Haifa and Kiryat Haim, activated the devices, installed communication applications on them, documented the hiding places, and forwarded the documentation to his handler. In January 2026, he was allegedly instructed to travel to the community of Amikam and photograph streets near the home of Gallant. After taking the pictures and sending them to his handler, he was arrested at the scene.
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