US imposes sanctions on Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange

The US has announced new sanctions against Iran as part of Operation Economic Fury. The US Department of the Treasury has added Nobitex, Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, to its sanctions list on the grounds that it enables the Iranian government and blacklisted state institutions to circumvent sanctions.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated in his announcement, "As the Iranian economy is in freefall, the regime has chosen to use digital asset technologies, including to evade sanctions and move wealth out of the country."

The US Department of the Treasury also imposed sanctions on two brothers, Seyed Mohammad Ali Aghamir Mohammad Ali and Seyed Mohammad Aghamir Mohammad Ali, as well as Nobitex CEO Amir Hossein Rad.

The US Department of the Treasury stated that Nobitex has provided "significant support" to the Iranian government and facilitated numerous digital transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Central Bank of Iran. The department noted, "Following the start of US military operations in Iran, Nobitex played a role in protecting and moving assets and funds out of Iran to preserve the regime's wealth, despite internet outages."