The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned BitBank, a Tehran-based cryptocurrency exchange that authorities allege moved hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and processed payments tied to ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

The Treasury said Iran has charged tankers between $1 million and $2 million this year for passage through the strategic waterway. Since June, some of the funds collected from those vessels have allegedly passed through BitBank.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Thursday that it had designated BitBank, which was founded in Tehran in 2024, along with Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the software firm that developed the exchange.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the latest sanctions demonstrate that cryptocurrency infrastructure used to support the Iranian regime can be targeted by U.S. authorities.

OFAC claims BitBank transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC is a major component of Iran’s military and economy and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

The agency also identified financial links between BitBank and the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority. Tehran uses the organization to offer “safe passage” insurance to ships, and the U.S. sanctioned it on July 29.

According to OFAC, Hormuz Safe began using BitBank to transfer the money it collected to entities associated with the Iranian regime.

Strait of Hormuz Payments

Iran’s economy ministry developed HormuzSafe, which advertises insurance, maritime traffic management and emergency response services for vessels that pay its fees.

OFAC said shipping lawyers have argued that the arrangement breaches transit rights established under international maritime law.

The designation blocks BitBank property subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prevents U.S. persons from conducting transactions with the exchange.

BitBank and the other entities also face secondary sanctions. As a result, foreign financial institutions or cryptocurrency businesses that facilitate BitBank transactions could face restrictions on their access to the U.S. financial system.

For offshore exchanges that serve Iranian customers, the sanctions create a risk of losing access to dollar-based financial infrastructure even when no U.S. person is directly involved in a transaction.

No Specific Wallets Named

The latest sanctions announcement did not include individual cryptocurrency wallet addresses.

OFAC has identified blockchain addresses in previous sanctions actions involving digital-asset companies. In January, for instance, the agency listed seven Tron wallets when it designated Zedcex.

Wallet addresses are useful to compliance teams because they can be added to screening systems to detect transactions involving sanctioned cryptocurrency entities.