The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, and three other local digital asset platforms, while also adding four Iranian citizens to its sanctions list. This move brings cryptocurrency platforms into the scope of U.S. financial pressure on Iran and further restricts the circulation of digital assets within Iran.
Four platforms were sanctioned.
According to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department, the four Iranian digital asset trading platforms sanctioned are Nobitex, Bitpin, Ramzinex, and Wallex. The Treasury Department also named four Iranian citizens, but the original statement did not disclose further details about their personal backgrounds.
The Ministry of Finance stated that Nobitex is one of the main cryptocurrency trading platforms in Iran. According to the US, the platform processed more than half of Iran's digital asset inflows in 2025.
The US claims it assisted in transferring funds.
The U.S. Treasury Department stated that Nobitex was used to facilitate payment activities related to Iran, including circumventing sanctions, processing transactions related to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and transferring funds related to ransomware activities linked to the Revolutionary Guard.
The US also stated that Nobitex helped the Central Bank of Iran obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoin funds to support the continuously weakening Iranian rial. This demonstrates that the role of stablecoins in cross-border transfers within a constrained financial system is becoming a key focus of US sanctions authorities.
The scope of sanctions continues to expand.
These measures come as the United States continues to escalate economic and financial pressure on Iran. Treasury Secretary Bessant stated that the Treasury Department will continue to track funds flowing through the banking system and digital assets to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Just a week earlier, the United States had also sanctioned Iran's newly established "Persian Gulf Straits Authority." The US stated that the agency was intended to control shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and described it as an extortionate arrangement targeting international shipping.
As sanctions extend from traditional finance to digital asset platforms, Iran's space for using local cryptocurrency exchanges for cross-border settlements and fund transfers may further shrink.
