US sanctions Iran’s BitBank, saying it processes ‘Hormuz Safe’ Bitcoin payments
US Treasury says the Iranian exchange processed payments received through Iran’s Strait of Hormuz maritime scheme and helped move hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC.
US Treasury says the Iranian exchange processed payments received through Iran’s Strait of Hormuz maritime scheme and helped move hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC.
US authorities on Thursday announced sanctions against Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, accusing it of processing Bitcoin paid by ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that as of June, the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority used BitBank to transfer payments it received to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Treasury alleged it is part of the architecture used by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani to move hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to the IRGC.
The designation is the latest Treasury action aimed at isolating Iran from the international financial system, including through sanctions on digital asset exchanges.