This incident is a glaring example of how cyberwarfare and cryptocurrencies are becoming deeply intertwined in geopolitical conflicts. The pro-Israeli hacking group Predatory Sparrow (Gonjeshke Darande) claimed responsibility for the attack on Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, and reportedly destroyed over $90 million worth of digital assets — including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin — by sending them to non-spendable “custom” addresses.
These addresses were deliberately made to be inaccessible, some even containing provocative messages against Iran. The Ethereum tokens were sent to the notorious burn address “0x…dead”, and one Bitcoin wallet had an invalid checksum, rendering the funds permanently unrecoverable.
The hackers framed the attack as a political statement, accusing Nobitex of helping the Iranian regime evade sanctions and finance terrorism. They then leaked what they claim is the exchange’s full source code, potentially exposing it to new vulnerabilities.
In response, Nobitex stated that user funds are safe as the majority are stored in cold wallets. The platform also emptied its hot wallets as a precaution and cut off external access to its servers.
This breach not only underscores the vulnerabilities of centralized exchanges, but also highlights how cryptocurrency infrastructure is increasingly being used as a battleground for state-level cyber operations.