US sanctions Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Novitex in large-scale ‘economic anger’ crackdown

The Treasury Department has alleged that Iranian virtual currency exchanges are enabling sanctions evasion when processing transactions linked to the Revolutionary Guards and regime insiders.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, and three other Iranian virtual currency exchanges. The move is part of Donald Trump’s administration’s economic anger campaign aimed at increasing economic pressure on Iran.

Treasury sanctions apply to Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. U.S. officials claim these exchanges help users evade sanctions, facilitate Iran-related financial activity, and process transactions related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Terrorist financing and sanctions evasion risks

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed in a public statement this week that Iran is increasing its use of digital asset technology to advance “corrupt objectives” such as sanctions evasion and transferring wealth abroad. He added that the Treasury Department will continue to track financial activity through both traditional banking channels and digital assets as part of the administration’s broader efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Nobitex processed more than 50% of all digital asset inflows in Iran in 2025, playing a central role in the country’s cryptocurrency ecosystem. The agency alleged that the exchange facilitated payments related to IRGC-related transactions, including Iranian terrorist activities, sanctions evasion activities, and activities involving IRGC-affiliated ransomware actors. The Treasury Department also accused Nobitex of helping Iran’s central bank access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins used to support the Iranian rial and giving regime insiders access to international virtual currency exchanges across multiple jurisdictions.

The Treasury Department said Nobitex helped protect and move assets abroad despite internet blackouts from the beginning of the war. In addition to sanctions against the exchange, OFAC also named Nobitex’s chairman, co-founder, and former CEO Amir Hossein Rad, as well as several other company executives and associates.

According to their findings, Rad helped restore Nobitex’s operations after the Nobitex platform suffered a $90 million hack in June 2025.

The agency also sanctioned Novitex co-founders Seyed Mohammad Ali Agamil Mohammad Ali and Seyed Mohammad Agamil Mohammad Ali. Both men are members of the Karaj family and are listed by the Ministry of Finance as members of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s inner circle. Current Nobitex CEO Seyed Ali Khoee was also named.

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Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex also targeted

Meanwhile, Wallex, which is said to be Iran’s second-largest digital asset exchange by trading volume, is said to have received 12% of Iran’s digital asset inflows in 2025 and facilitated transactions related to the Revolutionary Guards. Bitpin accounted for 10% of Iran’s digital asset inflows in 2025 and processed millions of dollars in transactions, including transfers allegedly linked to the Revolutionary Guards, but some of its investors are reportedly involved in efforts to circumvent US sanctions.

Ramginex, a Tehran-based exchange founded in 2018, allegedly processed more than $2.45 billion in trades and facilitated transactions related to the Revolutionary Guards and Iranian state-backed financial institutions.