The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on four Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges and two senior Nobitex executives after accusing the platforms of helping sanctioned entities gain access to the digital assets ecosystem.
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- The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on four Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, including Nobitex, as part of its campaign of economic anger against Iran.
- The Treasury Department accused Nobitex of facilitating transactions for sanctioned entities, while Chainasis said the platform handles about 50% of Iran’s cryptocurrency trading volume.
- The latest action comes after the Treasury Department revealed that nearly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies have been confiscated from Iranian exchanges and wallets since the conflict began.
According to the US Treasury Department, the latest action targets Nobitex, Walex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex as part of an ongoing “economic rage” campaign against Iran. The department said that US persons and companies are now prohibited from providing services to the designated exchanges.
Treasurer Scott Besent He said The Iranian government has adopted digital asset technologies to evade sanctions and transfer wealth despite the country’s deteriorating economic conditions. He added that the Treasury Department will continue to track Iran-related financial activity through traditional banking channels and cryptocurrency networks.
Submitted April 14, Department of the Treasury Economic outrage campaign The agreement became a key part of Washington’s efforts to isolate Iran financially during the conflict that began after joint US and Israeli strikes in February. US officials also linked the campaign to efforts to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program.
A few days before the new sanctions were announced, Besant revealed that the Treasury Department had confiscated nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrencies from Iranian exchanges and wallets since the conflict began.
The Treasury Department targets Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange
According to the blockchain analytics company String analysisNobitex is at the heart of Iran’s “digital dollar pipeline” and accounts for nearly 50% of cryptocurrency trading activity in the country.
The Treasury Department described Nobitex as a major financial platform serving sanctioned Iranian entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Treasury Department also alleged that the exchange facilitated surveillance activities directed against Iranian civilians.
Besides the platform itself, the Treasury Department added Nobitex CEO Sayed Ali Khoi and Chairman Amir Hussein Rad to OFAC’s sanctions list.
Recent reports published by Reuters have drawn more attention to the stock market. Reuters reported that Nobitex was founded in 2018 by brothers Ali and Muhammad Kharazi, who used the surname Aghamir, and that the couple belonged to an Iranian family with political connections.
Reuters also reported that Nobitex claims to serve 11 million users and processes about 70% of cryptocurrency transactions in Iran.
Nobitex has rejected allegations of direct ties to the government, describing itself as a private and independent company. The stock exchange told the news agency that it has no relationship or contractual arrangement with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the Central Bank of Iran, or other state institutions.
Cryptocurrency activity related to Nobitex has also drawn attention during periods of military escalation. previously Preparing reports Crypto.news, citing data from Elliptic, found that withdrawals from the platform rose by more than 700% shortly after the US and Israeli strikes on Tehran.
Elliptic said withdrawals exceeded $500,000 shortly after the attacks and approached $3 million between February 28 and March 1.
While Elliptic said Nobitex allows users to convert Iranian rials into cryptocurrency and move funds to external wallets, TRM Labs offered a more cautious assessment. According to TRM Labs, part of the activity may have been affected by an internet outage that led to a decrease in transaction volume after connectivity in Iran dropped by approximately 99%.
The Treasury Department added that the measures against Iran have already blocked access to financing channels worth tens of billions of dollars. Recent measures include sanctions targeting alleged shadow banking networks, companies involved in Iranian oil trade, and foreign officials accused of supporting Tehran’s military activities.
Cryptocurrencies remain a focus of Treasury Department enforcement
The latest actions continue a pattern of Treasury Department actions targeting cryptocurrency infrastructure that officials say supports sanctioned governments, terrorist organizations and criminal networks.
In May, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two networks linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel allegations That cryptocurrency transactions were used to transfer the proceeds of fentanyl trafficking. The Treasury Department allocated several individuals and six Ethereum wallet addresses as part of that process.
At the time, Besant said authorities would continue to pursue financial networks used by criminal organizations. Treasury similarly stated that sanctions, asset forfeiture, and portfolio allocation remain central tools in its efforts to disrupt financing channels used by hostile states and illicit actors.
