Iranian Exchange Nobitex Restarts After Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Tron Swiped in $90M Hack

Iranian Crypto exchange Nobitex slowly starts its services again after one $ 90 million hack From a pro-Israël group earlier this month. An expert said that citizens were seriously affected despite the attackers assertion They just wanted to Iranian government.

On Sunday, the exchange said via a message on x Those verified users could quickly regain access to their accounts and view their Nobitex wallet, while most other functions remain disabled. The next step is to resume admission, deposit and trade services for the same users.

Nobitex was drained in mid-June for more than $ 90 million in digital assets due to an attack by the pro-Israeli hacking group Gonjeshke DarandeeWhich means “Pretty sparrow“ In Persian. After the attack, Nobitex suspended users to gain access to their accounts and claimed That all user funds would be restored.

The sweeping funds include $ 49.3 million Tron$ 24.3 million over Ethereum-linked chains, $ 6.7 million in Dogecoinand $ 2 million in Bitcoinper data of Blockchain clarification company Cyvers.

The attackers of the fair used portfolio addresses that sent political messages, such as one address called “Tkfuckirgcterroristnobitexy2r7mnxReferring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsAka de IRGC, a branch of the Iranian forces.

Rajat Ahlawwat, APAC Research Lead at Compliance Firm Crystal Intelligencetold Decrypt That it is likely that the IRGC used the exchange, but it is probably not the only place where the group has access to cryptocurrency.

“Nobitex is the largest centralized exchange in Iran; in many ways, [it is] So usual a household name for crypto users such as Binance or Coinbase can be in other countries, “said Ahlawwat.” While Gonjeshke Darande stated that the intended target was the IRGC, and not the people of Iran, the reality is that many normal people were affected by this action. “

The attack came the day after Bank SepahOne of the largest banks in the country was also hacked by the same group, so that a large number of Iranian citizens were paid on payment day. Gonjeshke Darande is supposed to be connected to the Israeli government because of their ‘state -like capacities’, Ahlawat explained, although there has been no official confirmation of this link.

“As a result of the other promotions by Gonjeshke Darandee against Banksepah, many people did not get any salaries and could not use cash machines or payment cards,” Ahlawat said Decrypt. “Cryptocurrency, in particular Stablecoins, are often held as a hedge against inflation [in Iran]. So after Nobitex was hacked, there were many people on Twitter who talk that they have no access to money at that time. “

Iran has high levels of crypto literacylike the government and the general population look at cryptocurrencies as a way Avoid global sanctions And cover against the serious inflation of the nation. As a result, Nobitex claims more than seven million users, which is around 7.6% of the very Iranian population.

“I think the Nobitex -Hack was also meant to sow dissatisfaction among the population,” Ahlawat explained. “But rather, what actually happened on the ground was that people say,” Oh, another country is attacking my country. ” So instead of the anti-regime, pro-nationalism sentiment took over.

Predictors about Countless markets Believe that there is a probability of 79% that Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei will remain in power at the end of September, despite tensions with Israel and the United States. Users on the platform also think that there is a 44% chance that one Nuclear deal between the US and Iran will be reached by the end of the year.

Fortunately for Iranians, the greatest crypto exchange in the country is slowly resuming its activities, which is crucial for so many citizens trying the The inflation of 38.7% of the country.

Published by Andrew Hayward