Treasury puts two Iran-linked crypto exchanges on ice, sends IRGC's favorite mixer a chill pill 🧊

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two digital asset exchanges on Friday, accusing them of helping Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launder billions of dollars in crypto amid escalating military conflict between the two countries. OFAC designated Shelbit and Aban Tether for "facilitating illicit cryptocurrency activity and sanctions evasion," and named Iranian national Siavash Kayvanpour along with a network of crypto wallets and companies tied to him, including the entity that operates Shelbit.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action was part of a broader crackdown on Iranian financial infrastructure. "We will continue to increase the economic pressure," Bessent said. "Whether in dollars, rials, or crypto, Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat."

According to OFAC, IRGC-controlled wallets sent more than $1 million in crypto to addresses tied to Shelbit, while wallets linked to Kayvanpour moved $2 million in digital assets to Nobitex, an Iranian exchange added to the US sanctions list in June. The agency said Shelbit had facilitated the transfer of $2 million in crypto to IRGC-controlled wallets.

The Friday actions build on earlier Treasury moves against Iranian-linked crypto activity, including the January designation of digital asset exchanges Zedcex and Zedxio as sanctioned entities and the freezing of $131 million in wallets linked to Iran in June. Separately, blockchain analytics firm TRM has reported that Iran-linked entities moved $3.8 billion through crypto exchange CoinEx.