US Sanctions Iran's BitBank Exchange Over 'Hormuz Safe' Bitcoin Payments Scheme

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Thursday against Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, accusing it of processing Bitcoin payments tied to the Strait of Hormuz maritime scheme. According to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), BitBank has served as the digital asset conduit for the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which as of June used the exchange to funnel payments to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Treasury alleged that BitBank is a critical component of the architecture used by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani to move hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC.

"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," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The OFAC designations target BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates of Zanjani. Treasury had previously identified Hormuz Safe as part of an IRGC-backed scheme that forces vessels transiting the strait to purchase mandatory maritime insurance, including coverage against seizures by Iran itself. The designation notes BitBank was established in 2024 and is a separate entity from Japan's bitbank, inc., which was acquired by SBI Holdings in June.

The action is part of an escalating US campaign to isolate Iran from the global financial system through digital asset enforcement. In June, Treasury sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges including Nobitex, the country's largest. In July, the US government ordered the freezing of more than $130 million in USDt held in wallets linked to Iran. The Financial Times reported earlier this month that Iran's central bank has eased foreign currency controls to encourage repatriation of overseas earnings, including through cryptocurrency, as sanctions continue to tighten. The latest designations underscore the Treasury's commitment to pursuing crypto-based sanctions evasion networks wherever they operate.