The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on Shelbit Exchange and Iran-based Aban Tether, saying the two businesses helped Iran move funds and bypass existing restrictions. The move adds to a 2026 campaign that has already targeted Nobitex, other Iranian crypto exchanges and wallets linked to Iran’s central bank.
The action was announced Friday by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control amid the U.S.-Iran war, a backdrop that has increased pressure on Washington’s effort to limit Tehran’s access to foreign currency and the wider financial system. Treasury also sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour and several companies tied to him in Georgia, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.
What Treasury alleges
According to Treasury, wallets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent more than $1 million in cryptocurrency to addresses associated with Shelbit, while more than $2 million moved from Shelbit addresses back to IRGC-linked wallets. The department said wallets belonging to or controlled by Kayvanpour also transferred more than $2 million to Nobitex, described by Treasury as Iran’s largest crypto exchange.
Treasury further said Aban Tether processed millions of dollars in transactions involving already sanctioned Iranian exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex. The agency presented the designations as part of a broader attempt to disrupt channels used to shift money outside the conventional banking system.
Related network and stablecoin questions
Friday’s package also covered what OFAC described as a network of foreign exchange houses, shell companies and individuals that helped Iran’s shadow banking system move hundreds of millions of dollars, including money tied to overseas oil sales.
Although the sanctioned entity is named Aban Tether, the exchange does not appear to be connected to stablecoin issuer Tether. CoinDesk said it contacted Tether to confirm whether there is any relationship between the firm and the sanctioned exchange.
Why crypto is part of the enforcement effort
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that Iran’s use of digital assets and shadow banking networks shows that the administration’s “Economic Fury” campaign is having an effect. He said Treasury would continue to pursue illicit financial networks supporting the Iranian regime, whether they operate in dollars, rials or crypto.
The sanctions land at a moment when cryptocurrencies are viewed by U.S. authorities as an alternative route for sanctioned actors to move funds after being cut off from banks. At the same time, blockchain transfers can leave public transaction records that investigators and analytics firms are able to trace.
How this fits into the 2026 crackdown
The latest designations extend a series of U.S. measures against Iran’s crypto infrastructure this year. In January, Treasury sanctioned Zedcex and Zedxion, described as the first crypto exchanges targeted under Iran-specific financial sanctions.
In June, Treasury blacklisted Nobitex and several other Iranian exchanges. Last month, the U.S. sanctioned four crypto wallets linked to Iran’s central bank, and Tether later froze about $131 million in USDT held in those wallets. Treasury also sanctioned two Iranian maritime insurance entities over an alleged scheme that it said directed funds to the IRGC.
Friday’s action marks the next confirmed step in that campaign, with enforcement now extending beyond exchanges to associated individuals, overseas companies and money-moving networks that U.S. officials say support Iran’s access to global finance.
Source: www.coindesk.com