Key Takeaways
- OFAC designated Bitbank, its developer, and three Zanjani associates.
- Treasury alleges Zanjani used Bitbank to move hundreds of millions in bitcoin to the IRGC.
- U.S. persons generally cannot transact with the newly blocked parties.
Treasury Blocks Bitbank and Its Developer
Companies handling Iranian cryptocurrency flows face wider U.S. sanctions exposure after the Treasury Department targeted another exchange in financier Babak Zanjani’s network. The Sept. 17 designation of Bitbank also covers Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, which developed the exchange’s software and is a subsidiary of the previously designated Dot One Value Creation Group. OFAC also sanctioned three Zanjani associates: Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari, all executives of Dot One.
Treasury describes Zanjani as an Iranian businessman and sanctions evader active in oil exports, transportation, technology, and financial services. OFAC designated him in January for operating in Iran’s financial sector. Treasury noted that he was convicted in Iran of embezzling billions of dollars in oil revenue and alleged that he financed major projects supporting the IRGC and the Iranian regime, while Zanjani-linked exchanges processed funds for IRGC-linked wallets.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, alleges Zanjani used Bitbank between June and July to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Treasury also said the previously designated Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has used the exchange since June to transfer payments it received to the Iranian regime. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated:
“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. If you support the Iranian regime, the Department of the Treasury will sanction you.”
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs connected the action to a broader group of exchanges, payment companies, consumer applications, and proprietary blockchain infrastructure. Its analysis of the Zanjani network states that approximately $1 billion in IRGC-linked activity moved through Zedcex and Zedxion, two exchanges sanctioned earlier this year.
Bitbank Extends a Wider Iran Crypto Crackdown
The latest designation follows OFAC’s January action against Zanjani and the U.K.-registered exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion. Treasury alleged the platforms processed funds tied to IRGC counterparties, while Zedcex recorded more than $94 billion in transactions since its 2022 incorporation, according to the agency’s earlier findings.
Enforcement expanded again in June when OFAC designated Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex alongside four Iranian nationals. Treasury described Nobitex as Iran’s largest digital asset exchange and alleged it handled more than half of the country’s crypto inflows during 2025 while facilitating payments linked to the IRGC. OFAC returned to Zanjani’s own network on July 24, designating Dot One Value Creation Group and other companies and facilitators tied to him.
Operation Economic Outcast is Treasury’s government-wide campaign, launched Aug. 24, to disrupt networks Iran uses to smuggle oil, evade sanctions, and fund terrorism. The initiative made Iran’s digital asset sector subject to sanctions under Executive Order 13902. That sectoral determination increased secondary-sanctions exposure for foreign companies and individuals operating in or supporting the sector.
Designation Blocks Assets and Raises Transaction Risks
Executive Order 13902 allows Treasury to block people operating in designated Iranian economic sectors and parties that materially support them. The 2020 executive order also covers foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions involving targeted sectors or blocked persons, potentially restricting their access to U.S. correspondent or payable-through accounts.
Property belonging to the designated parties that enters the United States or comes under U.S. control is now blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Entities owned 50% or more by blocked persons are also blocked, while U.S. persons generally cannot conduct transactions involving them without authorization or an exemption. Civil penalties may apply on a strict-liability basis, meaning a violation can produce liability without proof of intent.
Bitcoin’s public ledger creates a permanent transaction record, but addresses do not identify their owners without supporting evidence connecting them to people or organizations. A bitcoin transaction reassigns ownership through a signed message that the network verifies and records, allowing investigators to trace movements after relevant wallet addresses are attributed to sanctioned actors.
