US Targets Iran's Crypto Lifeline: BitBank Sanctioned Over Alleged IRGC, Hormuz Payments
The US Treasury Department has sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank and its alleged network for allegedly moving hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and processing payments tied to shipping access through the Strait of Hormuz.
The move is part of Operation Economic Outcast, a broader campaign to isolate Iran's financial, commercial, and logistical networks. BitBank, which is controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, has been accused of using digital assets to bypass sanctions and maintain access to international finance.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated BitBank and its developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, as well as three alleged Zanjani associates. The designations freeze any property or interests in property held by the targets that are within US jurisdiction and prohibit US persons from conducting transactions with them.
The allegations come at a time when the Strait of Hormuz remains a major flashpoint in the U.S.-Iran conflict. Tehran has sought to regulate, restrict, or impose conditions on commercial transit through the waterway, while Washington has maintained maritime pressure on Iran and contested Tehran's authority to control international shipping routes.