U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchange BitBank for Bitcoin Transfers to IRGC

The United States is continuing to target Iran's use of bitcoin.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange, under Operation Economic Outcast. That operation is the Trump administration's whole-of-government economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers.

Washington has imposed sanctions on Iran for many years. This year, the country has stepped up its use of digital currencies, including bitcoin, to circumvent those penalties.

In a statement, 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 sanctions target Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, his software developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari.

According to the Treasury, the Iranian Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has used BitBank since June to transfer bitcoin to the Iranian regime.

The department said Thursday's sanctions are aimed at the “architecture Zanjani built to launder funds,”.

The statement continued, “The Department of the Treasury will continue to not only target the Iranian digital asset ecosystem, but also international entities and actors which help facilitate it.”

Iran earlier this year launched a bitcoin-backed insurance service for its counties shipping companies.

In July, the U.S. said it had frozen cryptocurrency tied to the Iranian regime, mostly in Tether's stablecoin.

Stablecoins such as Tether's USDT can be frozen by the issuing company. Bitcoin, however, is decentralized and has no single issuer, so it cannot be frozen.

In July, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said Iran had been evading sanctions by accepting bitcoin payments from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

OFAC stated that Hormuz Safe, developed by Iran's Ministry of Economy, “accepts payment in Bitcoin and other digital assets” to bypass sanctions.