The United States has sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, accusing the platform of supporting Iran’s financial operations and facilitating the movement of cryptocurrency to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation on September 17, 2026, as part of its broader “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign targeting Iran’s financial and digital asset networks.
According to Treasury, BitBank is a digital asset exchange controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, who was previously designated by OFAC. U.S. authorities allege that Zanjani used BitBank between June and July 2026 to facilitate transfers worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC. Treasury also said the exchange played a role in processing payments connected to Iran’s Hormuz Safe maritime scheme.
US Targets BitBank and Its Crypto Network
The latest U.S. sanctions target more than BitBank. OFAC also designated Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, which Treasury identifies as the developer of BitBank’s digital asset software. Three individuals associated with Zanjani’s wider business network were also sanctioned: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and Seyed Adel Heidari.
Treasury described BitBank as a key component of an Iranian digital asset infrastructure that authorities allege has been used to bypass international sanctions. The department said BitBank has operated within a broader network of companies and digital asset platforms connected to Zanjani, expanding the U.S. focus from individual crypto transactions to the businesses and infrastructure supporting them.
The sanctions come after previous U.S. actions against other companies linked to Zanjani. Treasury designated several Zanjani-associated digital asset entities earlier in 2026, including platforms that U.S. authorities linked to alleged sanctions evasion activity. The latest action therefore represents another expansion of Washington’s scrutiny of Iran’s cryptocurrency ecosystem.
BitBank Linked to Bitcoin and Hormuz Payments
A major element of the U.S. case involves the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority. Treasury said the organization has used BitBank since June to transfer payments it received to the Iranian regime. The scheme reportedly involves payments associated with vessels seeking safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important shipping routes.
Treasury also alleges that BitBank was used to move hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to the IRGC between June and July. The allegations place cryptocurrency exchanges at the center of a wider U.S. effort to restrict financial channels that Washington says can provide resources to sanctioned Iranian entities.
Reuters reported that the U.S. action is aimed at disrupting financial and commercial networks associated with Iran. The sanctions also demonstrate how U.S. regulators are increasingly applying sanctions authorities to cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain infrastructure and digital asset service providers when authorities determine that they are connected to sanctioned networks.
What the BitBank Sanctions Mean for Crypto
The BitBank sanctions add another layer to the growing intersection between cryptocurrency regulation, international sanctions and geopolitical finance. U.S. authorities have increasingly targeted digital-asset platforms that they allege facilitate transactions involving sanctioned governments, organizations or individuals.
For cryptocurrency exchanges, the action highlights the importance of sanctions compliance, transaction monitoring and identifying beneficial ownership. Treasury’s designation of BitBank alongside its software developer and individuals connected to its controlling network shows that enforcement can extend beyond an exchange itself to the infrastructure and people authorities believe support its operations.
The latest designation does not establish criminal liability by itself; it represents a U.S. government sanctions action based on Treasury’s findings and allegations. The development nevertheless puts BitBank and its associated entities under significant U.S. sanctions restrictions while adding to Washington’s broader campaign against Iranian financial networks operating through digital assets.
