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US Treasury sanctions Iran's BitBank over hundreds of millions in Bitcoin moved to IRGC

9/18/2026

Hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin, per the US Treasury, moved through Iranian exchange BitBank to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

BitBank processed payments received through Iran's Strait of Hormuz maritime scheme, a program Treasury calls Hormuz Safe, and helped transfer those funds to the IRGC.

The action targets the exchange for its role at the center of that payment chain. The IRGC, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, received the Bitcoin that Hormuz Safe's maritime operations produced.

BitBank sat between the scheme and the Revolutionary Guard. It processed the incoming payments and moved them forward. Treasury's designation names the exchange for that transfer function.

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