United States sanctions Iran-linked crypto exchanges including Nobitex

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added four Iran-linked digital‑asset platforms—Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex—and four individuals to a new sanctions list. The action was taken under the Treasury’s “Economic Fury” policy aimed at restricting Iran’s access to the international financial system.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions target entities that “help Iran evade sanctions and move capital abroad through digital‑asset technology,” noting that Nobitex alone processes more than half of Iran’s crypto transactions and has facilitated access to stablecoins for the Central Bank of Iran. The move comes while diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran continue.

The sanctions prohibit U.S. persons from dealing with the listed exchanges and freeze any assets they hold under U.S. jurisdiction, signaling a broader effort to curb Iran’s use of cryptocurrency for illicit financing and ransomware operations.