U.S. sanctions Iran’s largest crypto exchange Nobitex for facilitating terrorism financing

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, for its alleged role in facilitating payments linked to terrorist activities and sanctions evasion, Bleeping Computer reports.

Nobitex is accused of processing over 50% of Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025 and enabling transactions connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including those associated with IRGC-linked ransomware actors. The sanctions also target Nobitex executives and founders, as well as three other Iranian exchanges: Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. This action freezes any assets of the designated entities and individuals under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in business with them.

The move is expected to create international pressure, discouraging foreign companies from dealing with the sanctioned parties. In 2025, the Iranian cryptocurrency ecosystem reportedly received nearly $7.8 billion, with IRGC-associated addresses accounting for over 50% of the value in the fourth quarter. Nobitex alone handled more than half of these inflows.

Source: Bleeping Computer