The US Treasury Department dropped sanctions on Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, as part of a sweeping enforcement action aimed at dismantling the financial plumbing that keeps Tehran’s regime connected to global markets. The designation, announced on June 2, didn’t stop at one platform.

Three additional Iranian exchanges, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, were also sanctioned in the same action. Individual executives weren’t spared either, with Nobitex co-founder and chairman Amir Hossein Rad and CEO Seyed Ali Khoee both personally named in the designations.

What the Treasury is actually targeting

Nobitex reportedly processed over 50% of all digital asset inflows into Iran during 2025. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) alleges the exchange facilitated transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), ransomware operations, and stablecoin access for Iran’s Central Bank.

The action falls under the broader “Economic Fury” campaign, authorized under Executive Orders 13224 and 13902, which prohibit US persons from dealing with sanctioned entities and create secondary sanctions risk for foreign companies that continue doing business with them.

A platform already under pressure

Nobitex claims to have over 11 million users. Iran’s population is roughly 88 million, meaning roughly one in eight Iranians had some connection to the platform.

In June 2025, Nobitex suffered a hack that resulted in approximately $90 million in losses. Prior to the June 2 designations, Treasury actions had already frozen nearly $500 million in regime-linked digital assets.

OFAC specifically highlighted what it described as intimate ties between digital asset platforms and Iran’s ruling class, including connections to individuals in the orbit of Supreme Leader Khamenei. By naming executives personally, the Treasury is signaling that running a sanctions-evasion operation carries individual consequences, not just corporate ones.