CoinEx denies commercial ties with Iran, sanctioned entities

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx, which has Chinese roots, has refuted a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report alleging it was a key channel for Iran-related fund transfers, stating it has "no commercial relationship with the Iranian government or sanctioned entities." CoinEx said that it has been on the Iranian government's blacklist since 2021, with its official domain blocked within the country, and has never had an office or operating entity in Iran. The exchange also claimed that, based on currently available information, transactions involving Alireza Derakhshan and Zedcex/Zanjani, mentioned in the report, occurred before the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions, and that it has never provided services to sanctioned parties. Regarding a transaction related to the Bybit hack, CoinEx explained that it assisted by blocking the account and freezing assets immediately after becoming aware of the incident and will conduct an internal review of the transaction mentioned in the report.