From Dallas Express · Dallas Express · · 1m 50s
U.S. targets Iranian crypto exchange BitBank for sanctions evasion
Treasury sanctions a cryptocurrency platform accused of moving hundreds of millions in Bitcoin to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
In brief
Treasury sanctions a cryptocurrency platform accused of moving hundreds of millions in Bitcoin to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The U.S. is expanding sanctions enforcement into cryptocurrency, targeting digital asset platforms used to evade financial restrictions on Iran. Originally reported by Dallas Express.
Treasury targets Iranian crypto exchange
The U.S. Department of Treasury sanctioned BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange, along with its developer and four affiliated individuals for helping Iran evade sanctions and move funds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you.”
BitBank moved hundreds of millions in Bitcoin
Between June and July 2026, BitBank transferred hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under the control of previously designated Iranian financier Babak Zanjani.
Zanjani built a sanctions evasion network
Babak Zanjani, sentenced to death in Iran in 2016 for embezzling from the National Iranian Oil Company, had his sentence commuted in 2024 and returned to back regime-linked economic projects including BitBank.
Multiple entities and executives designated
Treasury also sanctioned Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, which develops BitBank's software, and three executives: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari, all tied to Dot One Value Creation Group.
Part of Operation Economic Outcast
The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on August 24 as Economic D-Day, aimed at cutting off financial channels supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Blocked assets and secondary sanctions
All property and interests of the designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. U.S. persons are prohibited from transactions with them, and foreign financial institutions engaging with them face secondary sanctions exposure.
Crypto sanctions now within OFAC reach
Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that efforts to finance Iran using cryptocurrencies are no longer beyond OFAC's enforcement authority, signaling expanded regulatory focus on digital assets used for sanctions evasion.
“efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC's reach”
The headline
The U.S. is expanding sanctions enforcement into cryptocurrency, targeting digital asset platforms used to evade financial restrictions on Iran.
