US Sanctions Iranian Crypto Exchanges Amid Growing Economic Fury

The US Treasury has expanded its sanctions on Iran's financial sector by targeting two Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, Shelbit and Aban Tether. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the exchanges for processing transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other terrorist groups.

According to OFAC, Shelbit processed over $1 million in crypto and pulled back over $2 million from wallets associated with the IRGC. The exchange also provided services to a network of over 2,000 gambling websites managed by two Iranian social media influencers, processing tens of millions of dollars in transactions.

OFAC accused Aban Tether of facilitating millions of dollars in transactions for Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, which are also on the sanctions list. The Treasury's move marks the latest step in its year-long campaign to isolate Iran's financial sector.

The US Treasury has been monitoring blockchain transactions to identify new targets and has frozen millions of dollars in Iranian assets. The pressure on exchanges and stablecoins to filter out transactions from Iranians is growing, as blockchain transactions are transparent and can be easily tracked.