Treasury Sanctions BitBank in Latest Blow to Iranian Crypto Infrastructure

U.S. Treasury designated Iranian exchange BitBank on Thursday, claiming it sent hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The action marks the latest expansion of Operation Economic Outcast, the sanctions campaign launched on August 24.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control did not stop at the exchange. It also designated Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, identified as BitBank's software developer, and three associates of previously sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari. Treasury described BitBank as a "priority digital asset venture" controlled by Zanjani.

The enforcement action connects the exchange to the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority. Treasury alleged that the authority has used the platform since June to transfer payments to the Iranian regime. Iranian media reported in May that Hormuz Safe, a bitcoin-settled insurance platform for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, was targeting more than $10 billion in revenue.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "Today’s designations of Iranian digital asset infrastructure make perfectly clear that efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC’s reach." He added, "If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you." The move follows June designations against Nobitex, which Treasury noted handled over fifty percent of the nation's crypto inflows during that year.