The United States has imposed new sanctions on an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange that Washington says played a key role in moving payments connected to ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and transferring funds to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced the sanctions against BitBank, an Iranian digital asset exchange controlled by sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, on September 17.
According to the Treasury Department, the sanctions are part of Operation Economic Outcast, a broader U.S. campaign targeting Iran’s financial networks and efforts to evade international sanctions.
U.S. officials allege that the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority has used BitBank since June to transfer payments it received to the Iranian government.
Treasury also says Zanjani used BitBank between June and July to facilitate the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to the IRGC.
The allegations are particularly significant because of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.
Washington has previously accused Iranian-linked organizations of demanding payments from commercial vessels seeking passage through the strait, including payments made through digital assets.
The latest sanctions also target Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, which developed BitBank’s digital asset software, as well as three associates connected to Zanjani’s business network.
Under the sanctions, property and interests in property belonging to the designated individuals and entities that are in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked, subject to Treasury rules.
The action highlights Washington’s growing focus on cryptocurrency and other digital assets as it attempts to disrupt financial networks it says are being used by Iran to bypass sanctions.
With tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz already affecting international shipping and energy markets, the financial battle over who controls — and profits from — passage through the critical waterway is becoming another major part of the wider U.S.–Iran confrontation.