US Treasury Sanctions BitBank Over IRGC Bitcoin Funding

On Thursday, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on BitBank, a cryptocurrency exchange. According to the department, the platform was used to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin (BTC) to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

OFAC also added BitBank’s software developer and three individuals linked to Babak Zanjani to its sanctions list. Zanjani, an Iranian financier, was already on the US sanctions list.

Treasury Targets Iran's Crypto Networks as BitBank and Developer Face Sanctions

BitBank operates as an Iranian digital asset exchange. According to the Treasury, Zanjani has been promoting the exchange on his social media accounts since at least 2024. A number of companies included in Zanjani’s sanctions evasion network list BitBank as a partner.

OFAC reported that Zanjani channeled hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin through BitBank to the IRGC. The transfers occurred during June and July. Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which was separately designated, has been processing payments to the regime via BitBank since June.

The sanctions also covered Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, which developed BitBank's digital asset software. This developer is owned by Dot One Value Creation Group, a firm previously designated by OFAC.

Three executives from Dot One were also sanctioned. According to the Treasury, Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein arranged digital asset deals that ended up with the IRGC. Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein is the head of Pishtaz Simorgh, and Seyed Adel Heidari holds the position of vice chairman on Dot One's board.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the move as a message to those who provide funding to Tehran.

“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. If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you,” he said.

US Intensifies Pressure on Iran's Cryptocurrency Channels

The sanctions announced on Thursday expand the US's Iran-related enforcement efforts. In August, OFAC blacklisted exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether because of transfers connected to the IRGC. Several weeks prior, the agency targeted a Hormuz toll system funded by cryptocurrency and based around marine insurance companies.

Earlier this month, the Treasury designated Iran's entire digital asset sector as sanctionable. The crackdown extends beyond cryptocurrency. On September 14, the Treasury also sanctioned Russia's VTB Bank over its alleged correspondent banking ties with Iranian banks that are under sanctions.

These measures are based on Executive Order 13902 and Operation Economic Outcast. Bessent unveiled the campaign on August 24, calling it "Economic D-Day."