US Hits Iranian Crypto Exchange with Sanctions Amid Iran Economic Isolation Efforts

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank and its associated entities. The move is part of 'Operation Economic Outcast,' a strategy to isolate Iran economically and disrupt its global financial networks.

The Treasury accused BitBank of processing payments for ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Babak Zanjani, an Iranian financier with a history of sanctions-evasion, controls BitBank. He was sentenced to death in 2016 but had his sentence reduced in 2024.

The US also sanctioned Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the software developer behind BitBank, and three associates of Zanjani: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari.