#我在Gate广场过新年 Missile hits Tehran. Within minutes, $2.89 million flowed out from Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange in one hour. This is what the 2026 financial panic looks like.

At the moment of the attack on February 28th, the United States and Israel launched an assault, and Iranians didn't run to banks—they ran to cryptocurrency. Minutes after the first strike, outflows from Nobitex (Iran's largest exchange with 11 million users) surged by 700%. The peak hourly withdrawal reached $2.89 million between 11:00 and 12:00 GMT. Over the three days from February 28th to March 2nd, total fund outflows from Iranian exchanges exceeded $10.3 million. The $2.89 million during peak hours was nearly eight times the highest hourly outflow of the previous day.
Where did the funds go? To overseas exchanges and self-custodied wallets. People exchanged rials for cryptocurrencies and completely transferred their funds out of the global banking system. This isn't speculation. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic is tracking on-chain fund flows in real-time.
This isn't just about Iran. In 2025 alone, Nobitex processed $7.2 billion in crypto transactions. Last year, Iran's total crypto volume was estimated to be between $8 and $11 billion. For millions of Iranians facing hyperinflation, international sanctions, and now war, stablecoins and Bitcoin are not speculative investments—they are survival tools.
According to data from TRM Labs, Iran's internet connectivity dropped by about 99% after the attack began. Even during that blackout, fund outflows didn't completely stop. Some users still found ways to transfer their funds. This shows how critical this infrastructure has become.
At the start of the war, the traditional banking system was completely frozen for ordinary Iranians. But cryptocurrencies were not. Funds were transferred across borders within seconds, without bank approval, SWIFT settlement, or government permission.
Bitcoin is currently priced at $70,263, up 3.56% (within 24 hours). The Fear and Greed Index is at 18, still in extreme fear. The world is watching the war unfold, and Iranians are watching their savings and thinking about how to protect them.
The $10.3 million flowing out of Iranian exchanges this week may seem small on a global scale, but its significance is anything but trivial. When war erupts and governments lose control, people no longer turn to gold or dollars—they pick up their phones and open crypto wallets.
This is the real story of the week.