Treasury Sanctions Iran’s BitBank Exchange Over Alleged IRGC Bitcoin Transfers
The U.S. Treasury’s latest sanctions action against Iran’s crypto infrastructure did not happen in a single moment — it’s the product of a network that Treasury investigators say has been moving Bitcoin for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for months. Here is the timeline behind the September 17 designation.
June-July 2026: The alleged transfers
According to Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), between June and July 2026, sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani used the crypto exchange BitBank to move hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to the IRGC. Separately, OFAC says the previously sanctioned Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority — a platform tied to a scheme requiring vessels to pay for transit-related insurance through digital assets — began routing payments it collected through BitBank starting in June, using the exchange as a channel to move funds back to the Iranian regime.
September 17, 2026: The designation
OFAC formally designated BitBank as a “priority” digital asset exchange within Zanjani’s broader network, alongside three additional targets: Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the developer behind BitBank’s platform, and three senior individuals tied to Zanjani’s so-called Dot One network — Pishtaz Simorgh CEO Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, Dot One vice chairman Seyed Adel Heidari, and Dot One executive Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein. The action was issued under Executive Order 13902, the same authority underpinning Treasury’s broader “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign against Iran’s sanctions-evasion networks.
What it means going forward
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that using cryptocurrency to finance the Iranian regime is “not beyond OFAC’s reach,” and that the department intends to continue targeting supporters of the regime. Practically, the designation blocks any assets the named entities and individuals hold under U.S. jurisdiction and generally bars U.S. persons from transacting with them — a legal wall, though enforcement against exchanges operating entirely outside U.S. jurisdiction remains difficult in practice. It’s also the latest in a string of similar actions this year against Iran-linked crypto platforms, underscoring how central digital assets have become to both sides of the sanctions fight: a tool Iran leans on for evasion, and a target Treasury increasingly treats as a distinct battlefield.
Note: A Japan-based, unrelated exchange also uses a similar “bitbank” brand name and has publicly clarified it has no connection to the sanctioned Iranian entity named in this action.
Want to understand how sanctions and compliance actually intersect with crypto exchanges? Coin680’s Bitcoin Academy covers the fundamentals.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Sanctions designations and their scope can be updated or amended by OFAC over time. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.