A pro-Israel hacking group known as Gonjeshke Darande, or Predatory Sparrow in Farsi, drained over $90 million worth of cryptocurrency from Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, on Wednesday. However, according to multiple crypto tracking firms, the hackers ultimately “burned” the stolen funds, rendering them permanently inaccessible.
The funds were reportedly moved to “vanity addresses” — crypto wallet addresses created with customized text but without securely stored cryptographic keys. As a result, the stolen assets, which included popular cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin, are now lost forever, according to a report by The Guardian.
Predatory Sparrow claimed responsibility for the breach on social media, stating that the attack was politically motivated amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The group also published Nobitex’s source code as part of its operation.
Crypto intelligence firm Elliptic confirmed that over $90 million was siphoned from Nobitex’s wallets to addresses containing phrases like “F*ckIRGCterrorists,” referencing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Elliptic noted that Predatory Sparrow does not have the private keys for these wallets, effectively “burning” the funds as a message to Iran’s government.
This hack came just a day after the same group claimed responsibility for destroying data at Iran’s state-owned Bank Sepah. Predatory Sparrow is frequently described in Israeli media as having ties to Israel’s cyber operations, though there has been no official confirmation of its identity or nationality.
Nobitex, which serves over seven million users, has previously been linked to ransomware operations and individuals close to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to independent investigations.
The cyberattack occurred amid heightened hostilities between Israel and Iran, with both nations exchanging missile strikes targeting military sites. The conflict has drawn global attention, with the United States stating it would wait two more weeks before considering direct involvement. Meanwhile, Russia warned Israel against attacking Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility.
Earlier, former U.S. President Donald Trump issued stern warnings to Iran’s leadership, escalating tensions further as both sides exchanged threats.
