US Treasury Blacklists Iranian Crypto Exchange BitBank Over Alleged $100M-Plus Bitcoin Pipeline
The US Treasury Department has blacklisted Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, accusing it of facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin transactions on behalf of entities linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
BitBank was added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list this week, according to the Treasury's official record. The designation freezes any assets belonging to BitBank within US jurisdiction and prohibits American persons and institutions from doing business with it.
The Treasury officials framed BitBank as infrastructure within a broader financial network, rather than a passive intermediary, alleging that the platform processed Bitcoin payments connected to Hormuz Safe, an entity referenced in the designation. The scale of the alleged transactions is significant, with hundreds of millions of dollars involved.