Treasury sanctions BitBank over Iran's Bitcoin toll payments

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned BitBank after OFAC said the Iranian exchange carried Bitcoin paid by shipping companies for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Between June and July, Treasury said BitBank moved hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Bitcoin to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority used BitBank since June to pass collected payments to the Iranian regime. The authority charged vessels in Bitcoin for transit rights. Treasury designated that scheme in July. BitBank is controlled by Iranian financier Babak Zanjani. OFAC designated Zanjani in January. Treasury said Zanjani advertised BitBank on social media accounts since at least 2024. Treasury also designated Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company. The company built BitBank's software and is a subsidiary of the designated Dot One Value Creation Group. Treasury also designated Dot One executives Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and Seyed Adel Heidari. All five entities and people were designated under Executive Order 13902. The order covers people operating in Iran's digital asset sector. U.S. assets belonging to the five are blocked. Assets of entities they own at least 50% of are also blocked. Non-U.S. firms dealing with them risk secondary sanctions. The designations are part of Operation Economic Outcast. Treasury says the campaign aims to sever Iran's remaining economic lifelines with help from the EU, the UK and Gulf partners. On Myriad, the odds of Washington announcing an end to its naval blockade of Iranian shipping by September 30 fell to 10%. The odds of an end by December 31 were 60%.