U.S. sanctions Iran’s biggest crypto exchanges over IRGC financing
The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran’s largest digital asset exchanges and several of their leaders, accusing them of helping the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) move money, evade sanctions and finance terrorist activity.
The sanctions were announced Tuesday by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department. They target Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, along with Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex.
Treasury said Nobitex processed more than half of all Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025 and facilitated payments tied to Iran’s terrorist activities, sanctions evasion and IRGC-linked transactions, including activity associated with ransomware actors tied to the group.
Treasury said Nobitex also helped Iran’s central bank access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins to support the Iranian rial, while allowing regime insiders to move wealth through international digital asset exchanges and across multiple jurisdictions.
After U.S. combat operations began in Iran, Nobitex helped protect and move assets out of the country to shield regime wealth despite internet blackouts, according to the Treasury.
The sanctions also target Amir Hossein Rad, Nobitex’s chairman, co-founder and former CEO, along with other company leaders. Treasury said Rad helped the exchange reconstitute its operations after a $90 million hack in June 2025.
Wallex, described by Treasury as Iran’s second-largest digital asset exchange by volume, received 12% of all Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025 and facilitated transactions linked to the IRGC. Bitpin received 10% of Iranian digital asset inflows that year, while Ramzinex has processed more than $2.45 billion in transactions, according to Treasury.
The State Department said the exchanges helped Iran access international financial systems and allowed regime insiders to move wealth across borders in violation of U.S. sanctions.
“While Iran’s economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital assets for its corrupt agenda,” the State Department said.
The sanctions block any property or interests in property held by the designated people and entities in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons. U.S. persons are generally barred from doing business with them.
The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is also offering up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of financial mechanisms used by the IRGC and its branches.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
