A pro-Israel hacker group has drained over $90 million from Iran’s leading crypto exchange Nobitex, allegedly targeting funds linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—only to potentially lose access to the stolen assets.
Digital Heist Targets Iran’s Nobitex Exchange
Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Nobitex, has reportedly been looted of more than $90 million in digital assets in a high-profile cyberattack. The incident, which unfolded on Wednesday, is believed to be the work of a pro-Israel hacker collective, according to multiple crypto-tracking firms.
Coins including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin were siphoned from Nobitex’s wallets, marking one of the most significant cyber thefts to hit the Iranian crypto space. The exchange has previously been linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—a powerful branch of Iran’s military designated a terrorist organisation by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Canada.
Anti-IRGC Messages Embedded in Transactions
Crypto forensic analysts at Elliptic revealed that the looted funds were redirected to digital wallets embedded with anti-Iranian messages. Several wallet addresses included explicit phrases such as “F—IRGCterrorists”, indicating the hackers’ political motivations behind the digital heist.
“These wallet signatures appear to be more than just storage addresses—they are messages,” said a spokesperson from Elliptic. “The hackers clearly intended to send a political statement with this attack.”
Millions Vanish into Unreachable Wallets
In a surprising twist, crypto tracking firms Elliptic and TRM Labs have both concluded that the stolen assets may now be irretrievable—even by the hackers themselves. The digital coins were transferred into wallets whose private keys appear to be inaccessible, either by error or by deliberate self-sabotage.
This development means that more than $90 million in cryptocurrency may have been lost in cyberspace, effectively nullifying the financial gain from the operation.
TRM Labs confirmed, “The trail ends at wallets that, based on all available data, cannot be accessed. The attackers may have inadvertently discarded the assets permanently.”
Rising Cyber Tensions in a Geopolitical Arena
The Nobitex breach underscores the rising intersection of geopolitical conflict and cybercrime. With cryptocurrency increasingly becoming a financial tool for sanctioned regimes and opposition groups alike, exchanges in volatile regions remain prime targets for politically motivated attacks.
Nobitex has yet to issue a formal statement addressing the incident. Meanwhile, international watchdogs are closely monitoring the aftermath of the breach, as questions remain about how the digital theft was orchestrated and whether it signals a broader escalation in cyber hostilities.
