According to the US Treasury, payments linked to Iran’s Strait of Hormuz maritime scheme were processed by the Iranian exchange, through which hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin were reportedly routed to the IRGC.
US authorities announced sanctions against the Iranian crypto exchange BitBank on Thursday, alleging that Bitcoin payments made by vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz were processed by the platform.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said that, as of June, payments received by the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority were transferred through BitBank to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The exchange was also alleged to be part of a financial network used by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani to route hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC.
The Treasury had previously alleged that Hormuz Safe was involved in an IRGC-backed operation in which vessels were required to purchase maritime insurance before passing through the strait, including protection against potential seizures by Iranian authorities.
“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,”
said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The latest designation has been added to Treasury’s broader efforts to restrict Iran’s access to the global financial system, with digital asset exchanges also being targeted through sanctions.
OFAC Sanctions BitBank and Entities Linked to Zanjani
The OFAC sanctions were imposed on BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates linked to Zanjani. Treasury described the entities and individuals as key parts of Iran’s digital-asset infrastructure allegedly used to evade sanctions.
Iran’s BitBank is not affiliated with Bitbank, Inc., the Japan-based crypto exchange that was founded in 2014 and acquired by SBI Holdings in June. According to Treasury’s designation, the Iranian platform was established in 2024.
In August, two Iranian digital-asset exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, were sanctioned by the US over allegations that they had helped the Iranian regime bypass sanctions. In June, four other crypto exchanges, including Iran’s largest platform, Nobitex, were also targeted by Treasury sanctions.
In July, more than $130 million worth of USDt held in wallets linked to Iran was ordered to be frozen by the US government.
Iran has reportedly taken steps to reduce the pressure created by tighter financial restrictions. Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that foreign currency controls were eased by Iran’s central bank to encourage businesses to repatriate overseas earnings, including through cryptocurrency, as US sanctions continued to tighten.
