Key facts
- The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian crypto exchange BitBank on September 17, 2026.
- BitBank is accused of processing Bitcoin payments for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
- The exchange allegedly facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin transfers to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
- OFAC designated BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of Babak Zanjani.
- The Treasury Department stated that the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority used BitBank to transfer payments to the IRGC since June.
- These designations are part of Operation Economic Outcast, aimed at curbing Iran's use of digital assets for sanctions evasion.
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned BitBank, an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange, alleging that the platform facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin transfers to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated that since June, the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has used BitBank to pass payments it collects to the IRGC. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that "Efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC’s reach." The designation is part of Operation Economic Outcast, aimed at isolating Iran from the international financial system and curbing its use of digital assets for sanctions evasion. OFAC also designated BitBank's developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of financier Babak Zanjani, describing them as "key components of the Iranian regime’s digital assets-based sanctions evasion infrastructure." Zanjani, who was sentenced to death in Iran in 2016 for embezzlement and had his sentence commuted in 2024, has reportedly been advertising BitBank on social media since at least 2024. The Treasury noted that BitBank is a separate entity from Japan-based bitbank, inc. Previous actions include the August designation of exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether, and the June sanctioning of four crypto exchanges, including Nobitex, for assisting Iran in sanctions evasion.