US Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchange BitBank Over Alleged Bitcoin Transfers to IRGC
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, citing alleged ties to financier Babak Zanjani and the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The designation was made under Operation Economic Outcast, a coordinated US administration offensive announced in late August 2026 to dismantle financing channels for the Tehran regime.
According to OFAC, BitBank operated as a central component within the digital financial network controlled by Zanjani, processing payments received in Bitcoin through maritime firm Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which was previously sanctioned by Washington.
The action blocks all property and interests in property of BitBank subject to US jurisdiction, with any transactions by US persons or within the United States strictly penalized under federal law.