BitBank

The US Treasury has intensified pressure on Iran’s ability to move funds through cryptocurrency channels by sanctioning another digital asset exchange and its operator network. This latest enforcement action signals that Washington is systematically dismantling the infrastructure Tehran uses to finance its military apparatus and evade existing financial restrictions.

• Treasury sanctioned BitBank, an Iranian crypto exchange accused of routing hundreds of millions in Bitcoin to the IRGC between June and July.
• The department also designated BitBank’s software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three executives connected to sanctions evasion operations.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that cryptocurrency-based financing of Iran is now within OFAC’s enforcement reach and promised continued designations.

• Hundreds of millions Alleged Bitcoin volume routed through BitBank to IRGC during June and July period
• August 2025 Previous OFAC sanctions against exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether over IRGC-linked transfers

The US Treasury Department designated BitBank and its supporting infrastructure on Thursday (September 18), according to BeInCrypto. The Office of Foreign Assets Control accused the Iranian digital asset platform of facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin transfers to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a two-month window between June and July. Beyond the exchange itself, Treasury also blacklisted Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the software developer that built BitBank’s digital asset infrastructure, along with three executives involved in the sanctions evasion network.

BitBank’s Role in Moving Funds to Iran’s Military

BitBank operated as a key node in Tehran’s cryptocurrency infrastructure, with Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, who already sits on the US sanctions list, actively promoting the platform through social media since at least 2024. According to the Treasury designation, Zanjani used BitBank to route massive cryptocurrency transfers directly to the IRGC, leveraging the exchange’s capacity to move digital assets with reduced visibility compared to traditional banking channels. The exchange also processed payments from Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, a maritime insurance entity that Treasury separately sanctioned for passing funds to the Iranian regime.

The sanctions extended to three individuals instrumental in the operation: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, who brokered digital asset transactions reaching the IRGC; Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, who runs Pishtaz Simorgh; and Seyed Adel Heidari, serving as vice chairman of Dot One Value Creation Group, the parent company of the software developer.

Treasury Secretary Issues Direct Warning on Cryptocurrency Financing

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. If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you.

Scott Bessent, US Secretary of the Treasury

Bessent framed the action as a decisive message to any third parties considering involvement in Iran’s financial operations.

The sanctions represent an escalation within Treasury’s broader campaign against Iranian digital asset infrastructure. In August, OFAC blacklisted two additional exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether, for facilitating IRGC-linked transfers, and weeks prior targeted a crypto-funded maritime insurance scheme. Earlier this month, the Treasury declared Iran’s entire digital asset sector sanctionable, removing the need to prove specific transactions before designating related parties.

Widening Financial Pressure Beyond Cryptocurrency

The campaign extends beyond crypto into conventional banking channels.

On September 14, Treasury designated Russia’s VTB Bank for alleged correspondent relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks, demonstrating that the enforcement action spans multiple financial systems simultaneously. The designations flow from Executive Order 13902 and an operation Treasury Secretary Bessent dubbed “Economic D-Day” when he announced the campaign on August 24. The systematic dismantling of Iran’s financial rails, whether cryptocurrency-based or traditional, reflects Washington’s intent to restrict Tehran’s access to capital for military spending.

The BlockWest read. Institutional allocators should recognize that exchanges operating in Iran-adjacent jurisdictions now face acute designation risk. The pattern shows Treasury moving from case-by-case prosecution of specific transactions to blanket sectoral sanctions, meaning platforms that touch Iranian digital asset infrastructure cannot rely on plausible deniability or technical separation. Crypto firms must now treat Iran exposure as systematically radioactive.

The Treasury has not announced a timeline for additional designations, but the cadence of enforcement through August and September suggests ongoing investigations into remaining Iranian crypto infrastructure. Watch for Treasury’s next action against digital asset platforms or individuals facilitating Iran-related transfers, as each designation narrows the available channels through which Tehran can move capital to the IRGC and affiliated military entities.