US Treasury Hits Tehran-Based Bitcoin Exchange Over Alleged Iran Ties
The US Treasury has announced that it has sanctioned BitBank, a Tehran-based bitcoin exchange, for allegedly facilitating the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated BitBank and its software firm Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company under Operation Economic Outcast.
The Treasury alleges that Iran has been charging tankers between $1 million and $2 million to cross the Strait of Hormuz, with part of this money being transferred through BitBank since June. The Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which collects these fees on behalf of Tehran, began using the exchange in June.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that efforts to finance the Iranian government using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC's reach. He warned that anyone financing the regime with digital assets would face consequences. The designation freezes BitBank's property in US jurisdiction and bars Americans from dealing with it, exposing foreign firms still processing its flows to potential penalties.