US Treasury Cracks Down on Iran's Crypto Networks in Multimillion-Dollar Sanctions Drive

The US Treasury Department has launched an operation to cut Iran off from global financial networks, targeting the country's cryptocurrency market in the process. Operation Economic Outcast aims to disrupt the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by sanctioning foreign parties that do business with the Iranian digital asset industry.

According to the Treasury, an Iran-related broker has facilitated upwards of $100 million in crypto transactions for oil sales since 2023. This move adds digital assets to a broader sanctions strategy covering several sectors tied to Iran's economy and revenue channels.

The new sectoral determination permits the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to designate foreign persons that provide or are involved in certain services to the digital-asset sector in Iran, operating from anywhere. This means companies could face higher compliance pressure and may need to apply more rigorous wallet screening and transaction monitoring.

The campaign follows a series of incidents aimed at Iranian exchanges, digital-asset wallets accused of transacting on behalf of sanctioned persons, and intermediaries earlier this year. The Treasury's recent step further heaps pressure on the crypto industry as it officially starts applying its new sanctions on Iran across digital assets and other sectors.