Washington Hits Iran's Crypto Sector with New Sanctions as Economic Fury Intensifies
The United States has imposed sweeping new sanctions on Iran's largest digital asset exchange and three similar platforms, accusing them of helping Tehran finance the IRGC
ERBIL (Kurdistanh24) - The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday designated Nobitex — Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange — along with three other Iranian digital asset platforms, as part of the Trump administration's "Economic Fury" operation targeting Tehran's financial lifelines.
According to the Treasury's statement, Nobitex processed more than 50 percent of all Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025 and facilitated payments tied to Iran's terrorist activities, sanctions evasion efforts, and transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — including activity associated with IRGC-affiliated ransomware actors.
The platform also helped the Central Bank of Iran access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins, which were used to prop up the plummeting value of the Iranian rial, while enabling regime insiders to reach international digital asset exchanges and evade sanctions across multiple jurisdictions.
Following the start of US combat operations in Iran, Treasury said Nobitex played a role in protecting and moving assets out of the country to shield regime wealth, even during internet blackouts.
OFAC also designated Amir Hossein Rad — Nobitex's chairman, co-founder, and former chief executive — along with numerous other company leaders and officials.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the action as proof that the Trump administration's maximum pressure strategy is working.
"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. "Iran's current economic chaos is proof that President Trump's maximum pressure campaign has been a success."
He added that the Treasury would continue to pursue Iranian finances across both the banking system and digital asset channels. "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 said.
The designations were made under counterterrorism authority Executive Order 13224, as well as Executive Order 13902, which targets individuals and entities operating in Iran's financial sector. The action forms part of the broader sanctions strategy outlined in President Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, which instituted a campaign of maximum economic pressure on Iran.
Separately, the US State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the IRGC's financial mechanisms and those of its various branches.