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Treasury Department sanctions crypto exchange Nobitex for facilitating terror finance and sanctions evasion
Iran's largest crypto exchange, with over 11 million users and billions in transaction volume, becomes the first Iran-incorporated platform directly designated under US sanctions.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, as part of a broader action targeting digital asset platforms accused of helping Iran evade US sanctions.
On June 2, the Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Nobitex along with three other Iran based digital asset exchanges and several individuals. Reuters identified the other exchanges as Bitpin, Ramzinex, and Wallex.
The move places Nobitex directly on the US sanctions list after years of scrutiny over its role in Iran’s crypto economy. Reuters reported that Nobitex had become a central node in a parallel financial system used to process hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
US persons are now prohibited from transacting with Nobitex, and any assets the exchange holds within US jurisdiction are blocked.
Nobitex was founded in 2018 by brothers from the influential Kharrazi family, according to Reuters. The platform grew into Iran’s dominant domestic crypto exchange, claiming more than 11 million users and handling an estimated 70% of the country’s crypto transactions.
The exchange gave Iranian users access to global crypto markets at a time when sanctions had locked much of the country out of the international banking system. Reuters reported that Nobitex processed between tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions linked to sanctioned groups, including Iran’s central bank and the IRGC.
A Reuters investigation published on May 1 linked Nobitex to a broader sanctions evasion network and said the exchange had continued operating even during government imposed internet blackouts.
The platform denied direct government ties and said any illicit funds moving through the exchange did so without management approval or awareness.
The action follows previous US sanctions against Iran linked crypto platforms. In January, OFAC sanctioned Zedcex and Zedxion for operating in Iran’s financial sector and processing crypto transactions linked to the IRGC.
Reuters also reported that a previous Nobitex investor had ties to Safiran Airport Services, a company sanctioned by Treasury in 2022 over drone related activities involving Iran and Russia.
In June 2025, Nobitex suffered a $90 million hack attributed to a pro Israel hacking group, raising questions about the exchange’s security and operational exposure.