Iran-based exchange Nobitex processed at least $2 billion through Tron and an additional $317 million through BNB Chain since January 2023, according to blockchain analysis reviewed by Reuters. The founders of those two networks, Justin Sun of Tron and Changpeng Zhao of Binance and BNB Chain, together hold roughly $4 billion in tokens tied to Trump family crypto ventures. No evidence in the public record suggests Trump, Sun, Zhao, or World Liberty Financial knowingly facilitated Nobitex transactions. But the overlapping financial relationships have drawn fresh scrutiny from lawmakers and watchdogs who argue the arrangement creates an unresolved structural conflict of interest.

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The financial web

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto firm co-founded by Donald Trump, three of his sons, and Trump's Iran envoy Steve Witkoff in October 2024, counts Sun as both an adviser and a major token holder. Sun holds approximately 4 billion WLFI tokens valued at around $266 million and invested between $45 million and $75 million in the project during 2024. Zhao's exposure to Trump family tokens is larger: according to Reuters, he holds $3.8 billion in related assets. Trump pardoned Zhao in October 2025, approximately 23 months after Zhao pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering violations. Zhao had served four months in federal prison in 2024 and was released in September of that year, more than a year before the pardon was granted. Binance, the exchange he founded, remains under a Department of Justice compliance monitor following a $4.3 billion settlement in 2023.

The structural link deepened in early 2025 when Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy in Iran nuclear negotiations and a WLFI co-founder, announced that the venture's USD1 stablecoin would be integrated onto Tron's blockchain. A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to a fixed value, in this case the U.S. dollar. Shortly after, Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX placed a $2 billion investment in Binance, settled using USD1. That transaction sits alongside a separate but related financial thread: four days before Trump's January 2025 inauguration, a UAE entity controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's Deputy Ruler and national security adviser, purchased 49 percent of WLF for $187 million. Taken together, the MGX investment in Binance and the Sheikh Tahnoon stake in WLF reflect substantial Abu Dhabi government-level financial interest on both sides of this structure. As of this week, 84 percent of all USD1 in circulation, totaling $3.56 billion of a $4.25 billion supply, sits on Binance, the highest concentration ratio among the top ten stablecoins globally, according to a Public Citizen analysis.

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Iran's central bank and on-chain footprints

Iran's Central Bank purchased more than $500 million in Tether (USDT, the world's largest stablecoin) via the Tron blockchain between November 2024 and June 2025. Of that total, $347 million was routed directly to Nobitex in the first half of 2025. Iran's total documented crypto activity in 2025 reached $7.78 billion, with IRGC-linked wallet inflows alone exceeding $3 billion, according to Chainalysis data.

On April 23, 2026, U.S. authorities froze $344 million in USDT held across two Tron blockchain wallets in an operation named Operation Economic Fury, which officials described as the largest single stablecoin freeze in history. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the funds were connected to Iranian financial networks, including addresses tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. OFAC clarified on the day Reuters published its investigation that Iranian digital asset exchanges are already treated as blocked financial institutions under existing law, even without individual blacklist designations. Nobitex has never been individually added to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals list.

In response, World Liberty Financial said it "has no relationship with Nobitex and follows U.S. law," adding that it does not own, operate, or control Tron. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: "Reuters' bizarre attempts to link President Trump to Iran's banking system are totally laughable." Nobitex said illicit funds moved through its platform "without management approval." Tron's foundation described itself as a technology provider that cannot monitor all transactions.

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What this means for South Asia and Africa

For readers outside the United States, the more immediate concern is not political. Tron-based USDT is the dominant stablecoin used by South Asian migrant workers in the Gulf to send money home. Remittances represent up to 10 percent of GDP for Nepal and roughly 3 to 5 percent for Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. India received $125 billion in remittances last year, with Gulf nations accounting for one-third. Stablecoin transfers currently make up 3 to 4 percent of those flows, but adoption is accelerating as workers seek alternatives to dollar-dependent banking channels, partly driven by concern that U.S. sanctions could freeze or disrupt traditional dollar-denominated payment systems. USDT trades at a 4 to 5 percent premium over the official USD rate in Indian markets, reflecting demand pressure.

Ryan Kirkley, co-founder of the Global Settlement Network, put the stakes plainly: "The first impact isn't on energy supplies, but the construction worker in Sharjah trying to send 2,000 UAE dirhams home."

The story carries a particularly direct dimension for Pakistan. The Pakistani government signed a memorandum with SC Financial Technologies, a firm described as affiliated with World Liberty Financial, and Zach Witkoff, WLF's chief executive, was pursuing business in Pakistan while the country was simultaneously hosting Iran-conflict diplomatic talks.

In Africa, Nigeria and Kenya have both passed crypto regulatory frameworks requiring AML and sanctions screening for licensed exchanges. Nigeria enacted the Investment Securities Act 2025 in March 2025, and Kenya passed its Digital Asset Law in October 2025. But the Nobitex case illustrates how exchanges that serve as offramps for Tron-based stablecoins can unknowingly touch flagged wallet clusters. OFAC's designation of Zedcex and Zedxion, described by TRM Labs as the first-ever OFAC designations of IRGC-linked digital asset exchanges, signals that offshore platforms with Iranian wallet exposure are now direct enforcement targets.

South Africa's Treasury announced in its 2026 Budget Speech that crypto assets will likely be brought into the country's exchange control regime, a development with direct implications for the Tron-based stablecoin flows discussed here. Separately, Africa's $70 billion intra-continental trade corridor is exploring stablecoin rails, and reputational exposure from the Nobitex case could complicate that effort for compliant regional platforms.

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What comes next

Former Senator Richard Blumenthal has publicly accused Binance of seeking to "evade accountability and influence the White House through lobbying and a financial partnership with World Liberty Financial," according to a 2026 Public Citizen report. Separately, Sun sued WLFI in April 2026, alleging the venture froze 595 million of his tokens worth roughly $107 million after adding a blacklisting function to its smart contracts in August 2025. Sun described WLFI in filings as a "personal ATM" for the Trump family. That lawsuit is ongoing. The Iran nuclear negotiations led by Steve Witkoff, whose son Zach serves as WLF's chief executive, add a further layer of complexity that has not yet been the subject of a formal congressional or regulatory inquiry.