Treasury sanctions the company that built BitBank's exchange software
OFAC's Sept. 17 action covers the Tehran exchange, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh and three Dot One executives, over hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin that Treasury says moved to the IRGC in June and July.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- OFAC sanctioned Iranian exchange BitBank on Sept. 17 together with its software developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company and three associates of the financier Babak Zanjani.
- Treasury alleges Zanjani used BitBank between June and July to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, the body Tehran uses to sell ships safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and itself sanctioned in July, has used BitBank since June to pass collections to regime entities.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure Unchained wrote that a crypto venue in Dubai or a bank in Istanbul processing BitBank flows can be cut off from the US financial system without any American ever touching the transaction.
- Who has to decide decision Offshore venues serving Iranian users now choose between clearing counterparties one by one and dropping the traffic wholesale, because Operation Economic Outcast widened exposure for non-US companies dealing with designated Iranian entities.
- What it sets up precedent Designating the firm that wrote the exchange software, and its chief executive, puts vendors and service providers to Iranian venues inside the same enforcement perimeter as the venues themselves.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Treasury's transfer total rests on information it has not published, so the largest number in the action is the one a counterparty cannot verify before deciding whether it was in the flow.
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OFAC's listing gives names, corporate roles and two domains, bitbank.com and bitbank3.com, and identifies BitBank as an Iran-based financial and insurance business established in 2024 [11]. Treasury's release and the SDN entry do not include wallet addresses, transaction hashes or a precise total [15]. That difference decides how a foreign venue finds its own exposure. An address goes into a blockchain analytics feed and screens automatically; a name and a domain have to be matched against onboarding files, ownership records and a compliance officer's judgement. U.S. persons are obliged to block designated property, and for non-U.S. parties certain dealings can create secondary sanctions exposure [8].
The corporate side is where the reach sits. Pishtaz Simorgh, which Treasury says built BitBank's software, is a subsidiary of Dot One Value Creation Group, sanctioned in July [7]. Its chief executive, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein, was designated with it, alongside Seyed Adel Heidari, vice chairman of Dot One's board [2]. TRM Labs said it started with about $1 billion in IRGC-linked activity around Zedcex and Zedxion, the two exchanges sanctioned with Zanjani in January, then broadened into the companies and payment systems surrounding them [16]. TRM said BitBank and Pishtaz Simorgh sit inside that same network, with the MyDot social platform, the DOTO digital asset and Dot One Smart Chain [17].
Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said "efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC's reach" [5]. The venue count behind that sentence: Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex in June, Shelbit and Aban Tether in August, BitBank on Sept. 17 [12][1]. Seven Iranian exchanges in four months, nine counting Zedcex and Zedxion from January [18][19].
Treasury put the Bitcoin figure at hundreds of millions of dollars and stopped there [4]. Read that at its floor, $200m across June and July, and the two-month pace annualises to $1.2bn, which is above the roughly $1 billion TRM described at the two January exchanges [23]. The crypto.news account said no independent on-chain evidence it reviewed confirms the full amount, and these are administrative designations, not criminal convictions [21][20].
The weaker version of the case is that none of this changes a dollar of settlement, because an Iranian exchange serving Iranian users was never inside U.S. clearing to begin with, and the designation is a statement of intent priced at the cost of a press release. The stronger objection is continuity: BitBank was established in 2024, Zanjani had promoted it publicly since at least 2024, several companies in his network listed it as a partner, and it came through the January and July rounds undesignated [11][14]. Software written once can be deployed under a new brand, and a designation then buys months. If OFAC adds digital currency addresses to the BitBank entry, screening automates and the question narrows to which counterparties kept transacting after Sept. 17 [15][1].
What to watch
- Whether OFAC designates its first non-U.S. venue or bank under Operation Economic Outcast's widened secondary-sanctions exposure.
- Whether Hormuz Safe's collections keep running after the BitBank listing, against the $10 billion in bitcoin-settled maritime insurance revenue Iranian reports cited in May.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives60
- Confidence60
Perspective Coverage
6 publishers- Builder
- Builder 18%
- Operator
- Operator 52%
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- Investor 30%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
On Sept. 17 OFAC sanctioned Iranian crypto exchange BitBank, software developer Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company and three associates of financier Babak Zanjani, as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
- [2]
Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein is chief executive of Pishtaz Simorgh, and Seyed Adel Heidari is vice chairman of Dot One's board; both were designated alongside Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein.
- [3]
Since June, Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, the body Tehran uses to sell ships safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, has used BitBank to pass collections on to regime entities, according to Treasury; Hormuz Safe was itself sanctioned in July.
- [4]
Treasury alleges Zanjani used BitBank between June and July to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- [5]
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action showed that "efforts to finance the Iranian regime using cryptocurrencies are not beyond OFAC's reach."
- [6]
Operation Economic Outcast, launched Aug. 24, widened secondary-sanctions exposure for companies outside the US that continue doing business with targeted Iranian entities.
- [7]
Pishtaz Simorgh, BitBank's software developer, is a subsidiary of Dot One Value Creation Group, which OFAC sanctioned in July as part of another action against Zanjani's commercial network.
- [8]
U.S. persons must block designated property, while certain foreign dealings may create secondary sanctions exposure.
- [9]
A crypto venue in Dubai or a bank in Istanbul that processes BitBank flows can be cut off from the US financial system without any American ever touching the transaction, according to Unchained.
- [10]
BitBank and Pishtaz Simorgh were designated under Executive Order 13902 for Iran digital asset activities; Treasury expanded its use of that authority in August as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
- [11]
OFAC's Sept. 17 notice identifies BitBank as an Iran-based financial and insurance business established in 2024, and the listing includes the names BitBank and BitBank3 along with bitbank3.com and bitbank.com.
- [12]
In June, OFAC sanctioned Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex as part of the earlier Economic Fury campaign, and in August it designated Shelbit and Aban Tether.
- [13]
On Jan. 30 OFAC sanctioned Zanjani alongside Zedcex Exchange and Zedxion Exchange, and a July 24 action added four individuals and nine entities linked to his network.
- [14]
BitBank had not been designated during the earlier rounds; Treasury says Zanjani had promoted the exchange publicly since at least 2024 and that several companies within his network listed it as a business partner.
- [15]
Treasury's public announcement does not provide Bitcoin wallet addresses, transaction hashes or a precise total supporting the alleged transfers, and OFAC's accompanying SDN entry does not list digital currency addresses for BitBank.
- [16]
TRM Labs said it initially identified about $1 billion in IRGC-linked activity tied to Zedcex and Zedxion, the two exchanges sanctioned with Zanjani in January, before broadening its analysis into the companies, payment systems and digital infrastructure surrounding them.
- [17]
TRM said BitBank and Pishtaz Simorgh sit within the same network as Dot One, the MyDot social platform, the DOTO digital asset and Dot One Smart Chain.
- [18]
Counting the June and August rounds plus BitBank, OFAC has designated seven Iranian crypto exchanges since June.
- [19]
Adding Zedcex and Zedxion from January makes nine Iranian exchanges designated across the campaign.
- [20]
The designations are administrative sanctions actions, not criminal convictions.
- [21]
No independent on-chain evidence reviewed for the crypto.news report confirms the full amount cited by Treasury, leaving the transfer total a U.S. government allegation based on information OFAC has not fully disclosed publicly.
- [22]
The Hormuz platform surfaced publicly in May, when Iranian reports said it targeted $10 billion in revenue from bitcoin-settled maritime insurance.
- [23]
Reading Treasury's "hundreds of millions" at a $200m floor across June and July implies an annualised pace of $1.2bn, above the roughly $1bn TRM Labs identified at Zedcex and Zedxion.
Sources
6 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cointelegraph.comUS sanctions Iran’s BitBank, saying it processes ‘Hormuz Safe’ Bitcoin payments
2 articles · September 18, 2026
- crowdfundinsider.comUS Authorities Announce Sanctions Against Iranian Crypto Exchange BitBank Over Alleged Bitcoin (BTC) Transfers to the IRGC
1 article · September 18, 2026
- crypto.newsBitBank faces U.S. sanctions over alleged IRGC Bitcoin transfers
1 article · September 18, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comTreasury hits Iran-linked BitBank as sanctions target crypto rails
1 article · September 17, 2026
- cryptoslate.comUS sanctions BitBank and its software developer
1 article · September 18, 2026
- unchainedcrypto.comUS Sanctions Iranian Exchange BitBank Over Bitcoin Transfers to the IRGC and Hormuz Passage Fees - Unchained
1 article · September 18, 2026
Topics and entities
Entities
- Dot One Value Creation Group
- Scott Bessent
- TRM Labs
- Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority
- Executive Order 13902
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- Office of Foreign Assets Control
- US Department of the Treasury
- Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company