The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned two crypto exchanges, Shelbit and Iran-based Aban Tether, as Washington steps up efforts to restrict Tehran’s access to cryptocurrency and foreign currency.
The Treasury Department said the exchanges helped Iranian entities transfer money outside the traditional banking system, expanding the U.S. crackdown on digital-asset networks allegedly connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designations Friday. Alongside Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether, the agency sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour and several businesses associated with him across Georgia, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite its name, Aban Tether does not appear to have a connection with stablecoin company Tether. Tether has been contacted to clarify whether the exchange is independent of the firm.
According to the Treasury, wallets linked to the IRGC transferred more than $1 million in cryptocurrency to Shelbit addresses, while over $2 million moved from Shelbit wallets to addresses associated with the IRGC. Wallets linked to Kayvanpour also reportedly transferred more than $2 million to Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange.
OFAC said Aban Tether processed millions of dollars in transactions involving sanctioned Iranian exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex.
The Treasury also sanctioned a separate group of foreign-exchange businesses, shell companies, and individuals accused of supporting Iran’s shadow banking system. The network allegedly helped move hundreds of millions of dollars, including proceeds connected to overseas oil sales.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s reliance on crypto and shadow banking networks shows the impact of Washington’s “Economic Fury” campaign. He said the Treasury would continue pursuing illicit financial networks operating through traditional currencies and digital assets.
The latest action comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran have increased pressure on Washington’s efforts to cut Tehran off from international financial markets and foreign currencies. Although cryptocurrencies can provide sanctioned parties with alternative ways to transfer funds, blockchain activity can also leave a trace that investigators and analytics firms can monitor.
The latest designations add to a growing list of U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s crypto-finance sector.
In January, the Treasury sanctioned Zedcex and Zedxion, marking the first Iran-specific sanctions against cryptocurrency exchanges. In June, Nobitex and several other Iranian exchanges were also blacklisted as part of the broader campaign against Tehran.
Last month, the U.S. sanctioned four crypto wallets linked to Iran’s central bank. Tether subsequently froze around $131 million in assets held by those wallets. Washington also targeted two Iranian maritime insurance companies over an alleged scheme to funnel funds to the IRGC.
The expanding sanctions campaign is putting greater pressure on crypto exchanges and stablecoin issuers to detect Iranian-linked funds and prevent sanctioned entities from moving assets through digital-asset networks.
