BitBank Sanctions Confirm EO 13902 Extension to Digital Assets

The legal architecture for sanctioning Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges was finalized in August, but its first confirmed application arrived with the Treasury Department’s latest action against BitBank. The designation marks the first time Executive Order 13902 has been used against an Iranian digital asset operator, confirming the administration’s expansion of the order’s reach to the sector.

OFAC’s determination identified five additional sectors of the Iranian economy pursuant to Executive Order 13902, specifically digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. The five targets include BitBank, controlled by financier Babak Zanjani, who has advertised the platform on social media since at least 2024. The designation also covers Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, which built BitBank’s software, and three executives from its parent, Dot One Value Creation Group. Treasury notes that the Iranian exchange transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the period from June to July.

"Efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC's reach," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The designations fall under Operation Economic Outcast, which Bessent announced on August 24 as a campaign to sever Iran's economic lifelines. According to the Global Trade and Sanctions Law analysis, the extension explicitly includes digital assets among the sectors subject to enforcement.

Non-U.S. firms dealing with the five designated parties risk secondary sanctions and being cut off completely from the U.S. financial system. This exposure applies even without direct involvement of U.S. persons, per the legal analysis published August 26. The two cases of domestic enforcement and international exposure cannot both be true without the August extension, which is what this action confirms. Traders on the Myriad prediction market reflect this pressure, pricing the odds of Washington ending its naval blockade of Iranian shipping by September 30 at 10%, down 30 points, with a December 31 deadline at only 60%. Bitcoin traded at $81,024.00, up 6.19% over 24 hours, with $43,984,618,642 in volume.