By Gloria Ogbonna
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced a new round of sanctions targeting Iran’s growing cryptocurrency sector, placing restrictions on four Iranian digital asset exchanges, including Nobitex, the country’s largest crypto trading platform. The sanctions were unveiled Tuesday by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which accused the exchanges of helping the Iranian regime evade international sanctions, move funds across borders, and support activities linked to terrorism.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures are part of the administration’s ongoing effort to increase economic pressure on Tehran and cut off financial channels that could be used to fund the country’s nuclear ambitions.
“While Iran’s economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset technologies for its own corrupt agenda, including evading sanctions and transferring wealth out of the country,” Bessent said in a statement. “Iran’s current economic chaos is proof that President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign has been a success.”
Bessent emphasized that the Treasury Department will continue to pursue financial networks connected to the Iranian government through both traditional banking systems and digital currencies.
“As promised, Treasury will continue to follow the money in support of Economic Fury, whether it is through the banking system or through digital assets, to prevent the regime from developing a nuclear weapon,” he added.
At the center of the sanctions is Nobitex, which OFAC described as a critical financial hub for Iran’s digital asset ecosystem. According to Treasury officials, the exchange processed more than half of all cryptocurrency inflows into Iran during 2025 and played a significant role in facilitating transactions that benefited the Iranian government and its affiliated organizations.
U.S. authorities allege that Nobitex enabled financial activities connected to sanctions evasion, terrorist financing, and the operations of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization. Officials further claim that the platform provided Iran’s central bank with access to hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins, helping authorities manage the country’s struggling economy and offset the rapidly declining value of the Iranian rial.
The Treasury Department also alleged that some transactions linked to the IRGC were connected to ransomware groups. These cybercriminal organizations use malicious software to lock victims out of their computer systems and demand cryptocurrency payments in exchange for restoring access. U.S. officials noted that several ransomware operations believed to have ties to the IRGC have reportedly re-emerged since the launch of Operation Economic Fury earlier this year.
In addition to facilitating financial transactions, OFAC accused Nobitex of helping move and safeguard regime-linked assets after U.S. military operations against Iran began. According to the Treasury Department, the exchange played a role in transferring wealth out of the country and protecting government funds during periods of internet outages and communications disruptions.
As part of the sanctions package, OFAC also designated Nobitex founder, chairman, and former chief executive officer Amir Hossein Rad, along with several other senior executives and officials associated with the company.
Three additional Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges—Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex—were also placed under sanctions. The Treasury Department warned that any individuals, companies, or financial institutions worldwide that continue conducting business with the sanctioned entities could themselves face U.S. penalties.
At the same time, OFAC announced that whistleblowers who provide information leading to successful enforcement actions involving penalties exceeding $1 million may be eligible for financial rewards.
The sanctions come just weeks after a Reuters investigation shed new light on Nobitex’s origins and connections. Published on May 1, the report revealed that the exchange was founded in 2018 by members of the influential Kharrazi family, one of the most politically connected families in Iran. According to Reuters, the founders allegedly used an alternative surname to conceal their ties to Iran’s ruling elite.
The Kharrazi family has longstanding connections to the leadership of the Islamic Republic through both political alliances and family relationships. Reuters described the family as one of the country’s most powerful dynasties, with connections extending to all three of Iran’s supreme leaders since the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
Despite international scrutiny, Nobitex has consistently maintained that it operates as a private and independent company with no formal ties to the Iranian government, the central bank, or the IRGC.
By May 2025, Nobitex reported having approximately 11 million users, representing more than ten percent of Iran’s population. The platform also claimed to handle nearly 70 percent of all cryptocurrency transactions in the country, making it a vital financial tool for many Iranians. Because international sanctions have severely limited Iran’s access to the global banking system, cryptocurrency has become an increasingly important method for businesses and wealthy individuals to transfer and store funds.
Reuters noted that many analysts were surprised Nobitex had not previously been sanctioned, given its prominent role in Iran’s financial system and repeated allegations linking it to government institutions and sanctioned entities.
The company also drew international attention in June 2025 when the hacker group known as “Predatory Sparrow,” widely believed to have ties to Israel, claimed responsibility for stealing approximately $48 million worth of cryptocurrency from the exchange.
Following the cyberattack, the group issued a warning to Iranian citizens, stating, “Collaborating with a terrorist financing infrastructure puts your assets at risk. Act before it’s too late.”
The hackers further claimed to have released portions of Nobitex’s source code, alleging that the exchange was conducting surveillance on its users. The revelations reportedly damaged confidence in the platform and contributed to a noticeable decline in transaction volumes.
The latest sanctions represent one of the most significant U.S. actions against Iran’s cryptocurrency sector to date and signal Washington’s increasing focus on digital assets as a tool for enforcing international sanctions.
As cryptocurrency continues to play a larger role in global finance, U.S. officials appear determined to prevent Iran from using digital platforms to bypass economic restrictions and access international markets.
Source Breitbart
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