US Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchange BitBank Over Alleged IRGC Ties

The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank and its software developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company. The move is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a strategy aimed at isolating Iran economically and disrupting the country's global financial networks.

BitBank, controlled by sanctioned financier Babak Zanjani, was accused of processing payments for ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange allegedly transferred hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Zanjani has been a prominent figure in Iran's sanctions-evasion networks and was sentenced to death in 2016 for embezzlement. His sentence was reduced in 2024, and he returned as a supporter of Iranian government economic projects.