The world is watching events in Iran as the populace is pushing back against the repressive regime led by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Recent reports indicate that Khamenei has vowed not to back down as anti-government protesters take to the streets and communications are shut down by government authorities.
Known for regular public executions and reports of torture, an Iranian prosecutor has stated that protestors may face the death penalty if they persist.
A report today outlines how the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran is benefiting from crypto, which is easily transferable and is subject to light regulation in some jurisdictions.
The IRGC began as an ideological militia but has grown in influence across Iran.
TRM claims that two crypto exchanges in the UX, Zedcex and Zedxion, have “processed” around $1 billion in value. This amount is said to represent over half of the activity on these exchanges since they commenced operations. Zedcex and Zedxion reportedly function as a single exchange.
Transfers allegedly were conducted almost entirely in USDT on the TRON blockchain.
TRM alleges that records tie the exchange to Babak Zanjani, an Iranian billionaire. Zanjani has been sanctioned by the EU and the US.
Ari Redbord, Global Head of Policy at TRM Labs, says, “This is not opportunistic crypto misuse — it’s a sanctioned military organization operating exchange-branded infrastructure offshore. Zedcex shows how crypto can be used as a parallel financial system when beneficial ownership, licensing, and platform control are obscured.”
TRM’s analysis claims that on-chain flows to IRGC-controlled wallets indicate a corporate trail linking UK entities to Iranian sanctions-evasion networks and to terrorist financing.
TRM states:
“In 2023, approximately USD 23.7 million flowed through IRGC-linked Zedcex addresses, representing about 60% of total activity. That share rose sharply in 2024, when IRGC-linked flows surged to roughly USD 619.1 million, accounting for an estimated 87% of all transactions. In 2025, IRGC-linked flows declined to approximately USD 410.4 million, while activity through non-IRGC-linked Zedcex addresses increased, reducing the IRGC share to about 48%.”
TRM explains that these UK crypto exchanges work with payments processors in Turkey to evade sanctions.
Questions swirl as to whether this is true and, if so, why authorities in the UK have not shuttered the two operations. Perhaps they are unaware.
TRM says the next phase of sanctions will be more focused on individual transactions and “illicit financial infrastructure,” as perpetrators may operate through an ostensibly legitimate crypto platform.
“That reality raises hard questions about licensing, beneficial ownership, and the limits of traditional compliance models in a world where financial infrastructure can be quietly replicated offshore,” states TRM