On Thursday, the United States Treasury Department penalized the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, claiming it enabled the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin toward the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The IRGC functions as an entity labeled a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and multiple other nations.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control, widely referred to as OFAC, additionally targeted BitBank’s software creator, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, alongside three partners tied to Iranian financier Babak Zanjani: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari.
An announcement published Thursday by the Treasury characterized BitBank as a primary cryptocurrency initiative overseen by Zanjani, who faced previous OFAC penalties due to a suspected web of businesses that assisted in washing money and bypassing restrictions against Iran.
Throughout June and July, Zanjani leveraged BitBank to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars toward the IRGC using bitcoin (BTC). The department additionally stated that the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has utilized the trading platform beginning in June to route funds to the government.
Hormuz Safe appears to represent the official organization supporting a bitcoin-settled platform initially highlighted by Iranian press outlets in May. The service was marketed as providing protection for vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the onset of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran. During that period, Iran indicated aspirations to pull in more than $10 billion in earnings through the platform.
The Block contacted OFAC seeking clarification and plans to revise this report if further details emerge.
“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,” stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you.”
Economic Fury, Economic Outcast
Thursday’s actions represent the most recent American enforcement initiative targeting digital asset platforms accused of aiding Iran in circumventing penalties.
During June, OFAC penalized Nobitex, which stands as Iran’s top digital currency exchange, together with Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex as part of the government’s prior “Economic Fury” initiative. The Treasury noted that Nobitex handled greater than half of all Iranian virtual currency receipts throughout 2025 while supporting transfers connected to the IRGC and additional penalized parties.
OFAC pursued further measures in August by penalizing the trading platforms Shelbit and Aban Tether.
This newest enforcement step operates as an extension of Economic Fury titled “Operation Economic Outcast,” which is an expanded initiative that commenced on August 24.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-09-17-us-sanctions-iranian-crypto-exchange-bitbank-alleged-bitcoin-transfers-to-irgc-415462.
