US Treasury Sanctions Iran's BitBank Over Hundreds of Millions in Bitcoin (BTC) to IRGC

OFAC Hits Iran's BitBank

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Iran-based cryptocurrency exchange BitBank on September 17, alleging the platform was used to channel Bitcoin (BTC) worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's dominant military force. The action, issued under Executive Order 13902 — the 2022 order extending Iran sanctions into the country's digital-asset sector — centers on Babak Zanjani, an already-blacklisted Iranian businessman who allegedly routed the funds through BitBank between June and July. The designation also covers Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the firm that developed BitBank's software, and three individuals tied to Zanjani's corporate network. Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, previously sanctioned over maritime payments in the Strait of Hormuz, is accused of moving funds to the Iranian government via the exchange from June onward. This is not an isolated strike: the step falls under Operation Economic Outcast, which the Treasury launched on August 24, and follows the blacklisting of Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex in June and Shelbit and Aban Tether in August. Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs has identified roughly $1 billion in IRGC-linked transactions tied to Zedcex and Zedxion — both designated in January — and places BitBank inside that same network, a reminder that whale-scale transfers on a public ledger are reconstructable years later. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stressed that fundraising through crypto falls outside no exemption: capital ties, software development and payment relationships are all in scope. Treasury officials also noted the target is unrelated to Japan's separately operated exchange bitbank, a distinction likely to matter as compliance teams screen counterparties.

Japan Moves Crypto Under FIEA

Half a world away, the regulatory ground under personal Bitcoin holdings is shifting as well. Japan has decided to bring cryptoassets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) — the same rulebook that governs stocks and gold — recasting them as regulated investment assets rather than a separately treated class. What that means at the portfolio level is visible in the allocation of one prominent Japanese market figure: a Web3 gaming influencer who leads fan-marketing firm GAMIES keeps roughly half her assets in crypto, concentrated almost entirely in Bitcoin plus dollar- and yen-linked stablecoins, with the other half in traditional assets. Her entry path is familiar: after losing video-production work in the pandemic, she moved through FX into Bitcoin and then into the DeFi boom around PancakeSwap, day-trading with leverage on overseas venues — the risk profile we break down in our guide to the best crypto exchanges. Tellingly, she only accumulated spot BTC two to three years ago, describing the trigger as social FOMO — “being in this industry without owning BTC felt embarrassing” — a status-driven buy rather than a valuation thesis. The spot purchase has since functioned as a HODL-style core position while she rebuilt an equity book this year, applying a single risk-asset/safe-asset lens across both portfolios and holding cash near 10%. She reads the current uptrend as durable, flags geopolitical escalation as her standing worry, and says FIEA normalization would finally let her discuss the industry openly with family. The shift follows other Japan-specific milestones, including approval of the country's first direct Bitcoin purchase framework with a $1 million cap. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Binance.

Sanctions and Legitimacy Converge

Read together, the two stories trace one arc: proof-of-work transparency and national law are closing in on Bitcoin from both ends at once. The Treasury's move is a final administrative action, not a proposal — effective upon Federal Register publication, it binds US persons and entities from any dealings with BitBank, its software developer and Zanjani's network under the EO 13902 text — and it rests on the public ledger's traceability, which lets analytics firms reconstruct who moved value where. Japan's FIEA transition treats that same asset as a mainstream investment instrument, and data-sharing regimes such as Argentina's OECD CARF pact extend visibility across borders. Bitcoin's spot price swung roughly 5.9% over the past 24 hours, a reminder that sanctions headlines and regulatory clarity now feed positioning in the same session. For COINOTAG, the takeaway is straightforward: the asset is being tracked where states oppose it and absorbed where they regulate it — and both processes are accelerating.