The U.S. Department of the Treasury said it designated BitBank, described as an Iranian crypto exchange, as part of Operation Economic Outcast in a move aimed at disrupting Iran’s reported use of bitcoin to move funds despite longstanding U.S. sanctions.

Treasury said the sanctions also target Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, software developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, and three associates. According to the announcement, the action is part of a broader economic campaign against the Islamic Republic and supporters accused of helping build financial channels outside conventional banking restrictions.

The Treasury statement said BitBank had been used since June by the Iranian Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority to transfer bitcoin to the Iranian regime. U.S. officials said the measures are intended to disrupt the financial infrastructure that Zanjani established for laundering funds. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said efforts to finance the Iranian regime through cryptocurrencies fall within the reach of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The department also said it will continue targeting Iran’s digital asset ecosystem and international entities that facilitate it. The announcement fits with a broader U.S. focus on crypto-related sanctions evasion, particularly where digital asset intermediaries, shipping-linked entities, and cross-border payment channels intersect.

Earlier this year, Iran launched a bitcoin-backed insurance service for shipping companies, according to the report. In July, the U.S. froze crypto assets linked to the Iranian regime, with the action focused mainly on Tether’s stablecoin, while noting that decentralized bitcoin itself cannot be frozen in the same way.

Why It Matters

This case extends sanctions enforcement from named individuals and companies to the crypto infrastructure that can connect sanctioned actors with external liquidity. For the digital asset industry, that raises the compliance burden not only for platforms with direct Iran exposure, but also for service providers handling cross-border transfers, custody, settlement, and wallet screening.

It also highlights a structural point in crypto enforcement. Governments can pressure exchanges, payment rails, and stablecoin issuers more directly than decentralized networks themselves. That makes access points such as exchanges and linked service firms a central battleground in sanctions policy.