US Treasury Tightens Grip on Iranian Crypto Infrastructure

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has officially sanctioned the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange BitBank, marking a significant escalation in Washington's campaign to disrupt the financial networks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This move, part of the broader "Operation Economic Outcast," aims to sever the digital-asset channels used by the Iranian government to evade international sanctions and fund its military operations through hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin transfers.

A Deeply Interconnected Sanctions-Evasion Network

At the center of this crackdown is Babak Zanjani, a high-profile Iranian financier accused of using BitBank to facilitate massive capital flows to the IRGC and the Iranian government. The sanctions extend well beyond the exchange itself to include its software developer, Pishtaz Simorgh, and its parent company, Dot One Value Creation Group. Blockchain-intelligence investigations have mapped a vast $1 billion ecosystem consisting of payment systems, transportation firms, and digital infrastructure that Zanjani’s network utilized to obscure ownership and bypass global financial restrictions.

Beyond Blockchain: A Comprehensive Enforcement Strategy

This latest action signals a strategic shift in how the US handles digital-asset enforcement, treating Iranian crypto venues as interconnected financing networks rather than isolated trading businesses. Rather than simply blacklisting specific blockchain addresses, OFAC is now targeting the entire corporate and technological framework—including software developers and executive leadership—that allows these exchanges to function. By designating key individuals such as Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and other corporate managers, the Treasury Department is sending a clear warning that the underlying infrastructure of the digital-asset sector is no longer beyond the reach of international law.