US sanctions Iranian exchange BitBank over alleged bitcoin transfers to IRGC

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Thursday, Sept. 17, sanctioned the Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, alleging it helped move hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an entity the U.S., EU and other governments designate as a terrorist organization. The action was reported by The Block, citing a Treasury release.

Per Treasury, BitBank is a "priority digital asset venture" controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, who was already under OFAC sanctions over an alleged network of firms used to launder money and evade Iran sanctions. Treasury said that between June and July, Zanjani used BitBank to move the bitcoin to the IRGC.

Alongside the exchange, OFAC designated BitBank's software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three Zanjani associates: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and Seyed Adel Heidari. Treasury also tied in the previously sanctioned Hormuz Safe platform, which it said used BitBank to transfer payments it had collected since June. Hormuz Safe appears to be the formal entity behind a bitcoin-settled scheme first reported by Iranian media in May, promoted as insurance-style coverage for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S.–Iran conflict began. Iran said at the time it was targeting more than $10 billion in revenue from it — a figure that comes from Tehran and is not independently verified.

"Today's designations of Iranian digital asset infrastructure make perfectly clear that efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC's reach," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the release.

Key facts

• OFAC sanctioned BitBank on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, over alleged bitcoin transfers to the IRGC (Treasury release, via The Block).
• Alleged volume: hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin, moved between June and July (Treasury).
• Also designated: developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company and three Zanjani associates (Treasury).
• Hormuz Safe, previously sanctioned, allegedly used BitBank to move payments collected since June (Treasury).
• The action falls under "Operation Economic Outcast," launched Aug. 24 as a continuation of the earlier "Economic Fury" campaign (The Block).

The real-world read

This is the latest in a steady cadence, not a one-off: OFAC hit Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex in June — Treasury claimed Nobitex processed more than half of Iran's 2025 digital-asset inflows — then Shelbit and Aban Tether in August. The specifics here are Treasury's own allegations; the underlying on-chain evidence hasn't been published, and The Block noted it asked OFAC for clarification with no answer yet. The dollar figures are worth reading with care: "hundreds of millions" is Treasury's characterization, and the $10 billion Hormuz Safe target traces to Iranian state promotion of the scheme, not to any verified receipts. Bessent's quote is political framing — a warning shot — rather than new fact. Note also this is secondary reporting; the primary document is the Treasury designation, which the coverage summarizes rather than reproduces.

This is news reporting, not financial advice.

Sources

• The Block (reputable secondary), "US sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over alleged bitcoin transfers to IRGC," Sept. 17, 2026 — reported the designations, Treasury's allegations, the Bessent quote, and the campaign timeline, citing a U.S. Treasury/OFAC release (the primary source, not independently reproduced here).