Israel-affiliated hacker attacks Nobitex exchange, burning over 90 million USD of Iran's digital assets

A group affiliated with Israel named Predatory Sparrow has publicly claimed responsibility for the attack on Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange – Nobitex, stealing and "burning" over 90 million USD in digital assets to send a political message.

According to security expert Hakan Unal, the attack originated from an access control vulnerability, allowing hackers to infiltrate the system and withdraw assets from hot wallets across multiple blockchains. The stolen amounts include:

49.3 million USD on network

24.3 million USD on EVM chains

2 million USD in

6.7 million USD in

Notably, the hacker did not transfer this money elsewhere but used a wallet address containing provocative content that is non-withdrawable – meaning the money is "burned permanently" in protest.

Predatory Sparrow claims Nobitex is a "tool for financing terrorism and violating the sanctions of the 69129506710 government" and threatens to publicly release the source code along with internal data within 24 hours.

Currently, Nobitex has locked access to the platform, asserting that the cold funds are still safe and committing to compensate users for the losses from a reserve fund. The exchange is cooperating with Iran's cyber police (FATA) to investigate the incident.

This is the most serious hack of 2025 in Iran, contributing to a rise in the total value of stolen digital assets globally this year to over 2.1 billion USD, according to statistics from CertiK.

⚠️ The crypto market carries many risks. Investors should be vigilant and always prioritize personal wallet security.