Iran Crypto Sanctions
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iran's Largest Crypto Exchange Over Terrorism Funding
The U.S. Treasury’s OFAC on Tuesday designated Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital-asset exchange, along with Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, in an initiative dubbed “Economic Fury,” calling it the Trump administration’s sharpest blow yet to Iran’s crypto financial infrastructure. Treasury said Nobitex handled more than half of Iranian digital-asset inflows in 2025 and served as a conduit for transactions tied to the IRGC, sanctions evasion, terrorism-related activity, and ransomware, including during internet blackouts, while also helping Iran’s central bank access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins. Treasury said Wallex (12% of inflows) and Bitpin (10%) and Ramzinex (over $2.45 billion in total transactions) were similarly linked to government-backed financial activity and efforts to route value across jurisdictions. Reuters reported the brothers controlling Nobitex are from the influential Kharrazi family with close ties to Iran’s supreme leader, though the company previously told Reuters it had no direct government connections and denied assisting the state. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s “free fall” shows maximum pressure is working, while also arguing the regime continues to “co-opt digital asset technologies” to move and shield wealth. U.S. officials said they will continue “following the money” through digital assets to disrupt Iran’s ability to fund terrorism and prevent development of a nuclear weapon.
Key Points
Treasury-linked reporting adds that Nobitex kept functioning even after Iran’s government-imposed internet shutdown—Reuters reported last month it continued processing “millions of dollars” of transactions during the blackout period.
OFAC’s action is set against a broader Iranian crypto ecosystem: one report cited by coverage estimates Iran’s wider crypto infrastructure at about $7.8 billion and says blockchain analytics firm Elliptic linked Nobitex to “wallets and behaviors” consistent with IRGC financial activity.
The sanctions were tied by U.S. messaging to specific administration policy framing—coverage says the move continues the Trump maximum-pressure campaign in support of “Economic Fury” and National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2).
Coverage also says the Rewards for Justice (U.S. State Department) program is offering a reward in connection with the crackdown, as part of the same broader effort to target the financial enablers of Iran’s illicit activities.
Details about Ramzinex are more specific than the broad overview: it is described as a Tehran-based exchange founded in 2018 that processed over $2.45 billion in total transactions, including payments for a government-backed Iranian financial institution.
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