The US Treasury delivers a new blow: two Iranian crypto exchanges have been sanctioned.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against two Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges — Shelbit and Aban Tether — as well as against network operator Siavash Keivanpour. This is another step in Washington's systematic campaign to contain Iran's crypto infrastructure, which has already faced restrictive measures multiple times this year.
Transfer scheme and the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
According to my analysis, the identified financial flows confirm a direct link between these platforms and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). OFAC determined that more than $1 million was transferred to the Shelbit exchange from addresses belonging to the IRGC, while over $2 million returned to the Corps' own wallets. This indicates the use of crypto exchanges as a tool for money laundering and financing activities subject to sanctions restrictions.
Keivanpour, who managed Shelbit from Georgia, created shell companies in Poland and the UAE to conceal transaction trails. His wallets also sent over $2 million to Nobitex — Iran's largest crypto exchange, which was already blocked by OFAC in June. Shelbit, among other things, laundered tens of millions of dollars for a gambling network, expanding the scale of the criminal scheme. Earlier, journalists reported transfers to Binance totaling $676 million, highlighting the cross-border nature of these operations.
Aban Tether and escalating pressure
The Iranian exchange Aban Tether also processed payments worth millions of dollars through previously blocked services such as Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. The U.S. Treasury cites Executive Order No. 13902, which targets Iran's financial sector. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated: "With dollars, rials, or cryptocurrency — the Treasury Department will crack down on any shadow financial networks."
These measures are part of the "maximum pressure" strategy against Iran in accordance with directive NSPM-2. Stablecoin issuers have already demonstrated readiness to promptly freeze Iranian wallets after they are added to sanctions lists, further isolating the country from the global crypto economy.
My commentary: This situation is a vivid example of how regulatory pressure is transforming the crypto market. The sanctions against Shelbit and Aban Tether not only restrict Iran's access to liquidity but also serve as a warning to other jurisdictions using cryptocurrencies to circumvent restrictions. Investors and exchange operators should account for increased compliance risks when dealing with assets from sanctioned regions.