US sanctions Iran’s largest crypto exchange over IRGC links
By Reuters, June 3, 2026The US has announced sanctions on Iran’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, accusing it of enabling the Iranian government and state institutions to circumvent Western sanctions.
The new sanctions follow an investigation, which showed that Nobitex processed hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“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,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“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.”
The U.S. Treasury Department claim that Nobitex enabled the Central Bank of Iran to access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins used to support the struggling Iranian rial, while also helping regime-linked individuals access global crypto exchanges and bypass sanctions across multiple jurisdictions.
The Treasury also imposed sanctions on founder brothers Seyed Mohammad Ali Aghamir Mohammad Ali and Seyed Mohammad Aghamir Mohammad Ali, Amir Hossein Rad, who is Nobitex’s chairman, co-founder, and former CEO, as well as Seyed Ali Khoee, who is the current CEO of Nobitex. Other digital asset exchanges, including Bitpin, Ramzinex, and Wallex, were also blacklisted.
Nobitex had denied having any direct links to the Iranian government. Nobitex posted to its Telegram channel that the exchange had been preparing for potential sanctions-related challenges for years, citing “the unique challenges faced by Iranian businesses operating internationally.”
The latest action comes as the Trump administration expands its campaign to target Iran’s financial networks beyond conventional banking channels.
Last week, Bessent revealed that Washington had seized nearly Ksh129.2 billion in Iranian-linked cryptocurrency assets under “Operation Economic Fury”, a programme launched in 2025 to disrupt Tehran’s access to international finance through sanctions, asset seizures and coordination with allied governments.
Speaking at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent said US authorities had taken control of cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iranian entities and were working with European partners to identify and seize overseas assets linked to the regime.
“We have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto,” Bessent said. “Just outright grabbed the wallets.”
US officials have increasingly warned that digital assets are being used to bypass restrictions imposed on Iran’s banking sector, oil exports and international transactions.
According to TRM Labs, the IRGC has moved approximately Ksh389.1 billion through cryptocurrency networks since 2023. The firm says it has identified more than 5,000 wallet addresses linked to the organisation.
Chainalysis has estimated that roughly half of Iran’s crypto transaction volume is connected to the IRGC, highlighting the growing role of digital assets in the country’s financial system.
Iran’s overall cryptocurrency activity has also expanded rapidly. Blockchain analytics firms estimate that Iranian-linked transaction volumes reached between Ksh1.036 trillion and Ksh1.297 trillion in 2025, reflecting both state-linked activity and rising retail adoption.
The growth has been driven in part by economic pressures inside Iran, where citizens facing high inflation and a weakening rial have increasingly turned to digital assets as a store of value.