The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, accusing the platform of helping move hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions on September 17 as part of a broader U.S. campaign targeting Iran’s financial and digital asset networks. Treasury identified BitBank as a digital asset venture controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani.
Treasury said Zanjani used BitBank between June and July to facilitate Bitcoin transfers worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the IRGC. The agency also alleged that BitBank helped process payments connected to Iran’s Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority.
The sanctions extend a wider crackdown on Zanjani-linked cryptocurrency businesses. Treasury previously designated Zanjani and his digital asset ventures Zedcex and Zedxion in January. It expanded those measures in July to additional companies and individuals linked to his network.
BitBank Targeted Alongside Developer
Treasury also sanctioned BitBank’s software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company. Three associates of Zanjani were also designated.
The U.S. government said the companies and individuals form part of infrastructure that allegedly supports sanctions evasion and transfers involving Iranian state-linked entities.
The sanctions block property and interests in property belonging to the designated parties that fall under U.S. jurisdiction. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions involving blocked parties unless authorized by Treasury.
The action highlights the growing focus on cryptocurrency exchanges in U.S. sanctions enforcement. Washington has increasingly targeted digital asset platforms that it says facilitate financial activity for sanctioned Iranian entities.
Broader Pressure on Iran’s Crypto Network
The BitBank designation follows several other U.S. actions against Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges this year. Treasury has accused multiple platforms of helping Iran move funds outside traditional financial channels.
For the crypto industry, the case underscores the compliance risks facing exchanges that maintain links to sanctioned jurisdictions or counterparties. It also demonstrates how blockchain-related businesses can become targets when U.S. authorities identify their transactions as part of sanctions-evasion networks.
Treasury’s latest action places BitBank within that broader enforcement effort and adds another layer of pressure on Iran’s cryptocurrency infrastructure.
