US Blacklists Bitbank Over Hundreds of Millions in Bitcoin Transfers

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Iranian crypto exchange Bitbank, its software developer, and three associates of financier Babak Zanjani for alleged sanctions‑evasion.

Key designations

• Bitbank and Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the developer of Bitbank’s software, were added to the sanctions list on September 17.
• Three Zanjani associates – Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, and Seyed Adel Heidari – were also designated.
• The designations extend to entities owned 50% or more by the blocked parties.

Alleged activity

OFAC alleges that Zanjani used Bitbank between June and July to transfer "hundreds of millions of dollars" in bitcoin to wallets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Treasury also noted that Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority used the exchange for similar transfers.

Broader crackdown on Iran’s crypto sector

• Earlier sanctions this year targeted exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion, linked to roughly $1 billion of IRGC‑related activity.
• June designations added Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex, with Nobitex described as handling more than half of Iran’s crypto inflows in 2025.
• July actions sanctioned Dot One Value Creation Group and other entities tied to Zanjani.

Legal framework

The designations rely on Executive Order 13902, which allows Treasury to block assets and restrict transactions involving designated Iranian economic sectors. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with the listed parties without a specific license, and violations can incur strict‑liability civil penalties.

Implications for the crypto ecosystem

Bitcoin’s public ledger records all transactions, enabling investigators to trace fund movements once wallet addresses are linked to sanctioned actors. The sanctions increase compliance risk for foreign exchanges, payment processors and financial institutions that might facilitate transactions involving the blocked entities.