The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank on September 17, alleging that the platform formed part of a digital asset network used to move funds for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated BitBank alongside its software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani. Zanjani was previously sanctioned by the United States.
According to Treasury, Zanjani used BitBank between June and July to facilitate transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to the IRGC. Treasury also said the previously sanctioned Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority used BitBank to transfer payments it received to the Iranian government.
The action expands Washington's focus beyond individual cryptocurrency addresses toward the companies and infrastructure allegedly facilitating sanctioned financial activity.
Treasury Targets Crypto Infrastructure
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the latest designations demonstrate that digital asset infrastructure falls within OFAC's sanctions enforcement reach.
Treasury described BitBank as an Iranian digital asset exchange controlled by Zanjani and said its developer is a subsidiary of Dot One Value Creation Group, another OFAC-designated company.
The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 13902, which Treasury is using to target Iran's digital asset sector alongside other areas of the Iranian economy.
Treasury said the expanded authority allows it to pursue not only Iranian crypto businesses but also international entities and individuals that facilitate sanctioned activity.
BitBank Part of Broader Zanjani Network
Zanjani has been targeted repeatedly by U.S. authorities over alleged sanctions-evasion activities.
Treasury said he built a network spanning financial services, digital asset trading, transportation and other businesses, some of which were allegedly used to move funds covertly and support Iranian state-linked organizations.
In January, OFAC designated Zanjani and crypto-related entities linked to him. Additional individuals and companies associated with his network were targeted in July.
The latest BitBank action forms part of Operation Economic Outcast, a broader U.S. campaign aimed at disrupting Iranian revenue streams and financial networks.
Foreign Crypto Firms Face Greater Exposure
The sanctions also carry implications for non-U.S. exchanges, financial institutions and crypto intermediaries interacting with designated Iranian entities.
Treasury has made clear that its enforcement strategy can extend beyond U.S.-based businesses, increasing compliance risks for overseas companies that knowingly facilitate transactions involving sanctioned networks.
The broader approach reflects the complexity of sanctions evasion, which can involve traditional financial institutions, shell companies, cryptocurrency platforms and cross-border intermediaries rather than isolated blockchain wallets.
Iran also remains on the Financial Action Task Force's list of high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action, with FATF citing significant deficiencies in combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
Crypto Enforcement Faces Global Gaps
Greater pressure on centralized cryptocurrency platforms could push some sanctioned activity toward offshore providers, decentralized services and jurisdictions with weaker enforcement, making international coordination increasingly important.
FATF's latest review found that 83% of surveyed jurisdictions have passed legislation implementing its crypto Travel Rule, up from 73% a year earlier. However, FATF said significant gaps remain in effective supervision, licensing and enforcement.
Those gaps can create opportunities for illicit financial activity to migrate toward markets where crypto businesses receive less oversight.
The BitBank designation therefore represents more than another addition to OFAC's sanctions list. Treasury is increasingly signaling that crypto exchanges, developers and other infrastructure providers themselves can become enforcement targets when U.S. authorities determine that they are facilitating sanctioned financial networks.
For international crypto companies, that approach raises the importance of screening not only wallet addresses but also the businesses, counterparties and financial networks behind transactions as U.S. sanctions enforcement expands deeper into digital asset infrastructure.
