The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has sanctioned two more cryptocurrency exchanges it says helped Iran route funds around the international financial system. The designations target Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether, an Iran-based platform, along with Siavash Kayvanpour and a network of companies registered in Georgia, Poland and the United Arab Emirates that OFAC says supported the operation.
Treasury's blockchain analysis found that wallets linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent more than $1 million in crypto to Shelbit addresses, while over $2 million flowed back from Shelbit to IRGC-controlled wallets. Separately, wallets controlled by Kayvanpour sent more than $2 million to Nobitex, one of four Iranian exchanges the U.S. blacklisted in June. Aban Tether, for its part, is accused of processing millions of dollars in transactions tied to a cluster of already-sanctioned Iranian platforms, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex.
Part of a Broader 2026 Campaign
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the action as part of the administration's ongoing pressure campaign, saying that "the Iranian regime's reliance on digital assets and shadow banking networks is further evidence that Economic Fury is working." The sanctions extend a pattern that has accelerated through 2026: OFAC first targeted Zedcex and Zedxion in January as the initial crypto-specific designations under the campaign, blacklisted Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex in June, and in July sanctioned four Iranian central bank crypto wallets — an action that prompted Tether to freeze roughly $131 million in USDT tied to those addresses.
Enforcement Net Widening Beyond Crypto
The exchange sanctions follow a broader Treasury push this year against Iran's so-called shadow banking apparatus, which has seen more than 50 companies, vessels and individuals designated for helping Tehran's oil and financial networks evade restrictions. That campaign has increasingly converged with crypto enforcement, as regulators argue that digital assets have become a primary channel for Iran to move value once traditional banking routes were cut off. OFAC has also published guidance warning foreign financial institutions that continuing to process transactions for already-sanctioned Iranian exchanges could expose them to secondary sanctions, a signal that Washington intends the pressure to extend well beyond U.S.-based entities.
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For crypto exchanges and compliance teams operating outside the U.S., the latest designations reinforce that Iran-linked flows remain one of the most closely watched corners of the market, with OFAC showing no signs of slowing its pace of enforcement heading into the back half of 2026.
