US sanctions hit all of Iran’s major crypto exchanges, with secondary sanctions risk for foreign platforms

The US Treasury has sanctioned four of Iran’s biggest crypto exchanges — Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex — saying they are key channels for digital asset flows into the country and for sanctions evasion. For PSPs, exchanges, and stablecoin issuers, the useful part is not the headline itself but the secondary sanctions warning: continued servicing of these venues can now become a US exposure problem.

1. The US Treasury said at least 72% of digital assets entering Iran pass through these four platforms. In its statement, the department said the exchanges were used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated ransomware actors, including for bypassing international restrictions.
2. According to the Treasury, Nobitex handled more than half of all cryptocurrency transactions in Iran in 2025. The platform also helped Iran’s central bank access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins to support the rial.
3. The sanctions cover Nobitex co-founder and former CEO Amir Hossein Rad and current CEO Seyed Ali Khoee. All US assets and “property interests” of the listed parties must be blocked, and the same applies to entities owned 50% or more by sanctioned businesspeople and executives.
4. The US government also warned of secondary sanctions. Foreign crypto exchanges, p2p platforms, and stablecoin issuers that continue processing transactions for Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex may face US restrictions themselves.
5. At the same time, the State Department announced a reward of up to $15 million for information that would help identify and disrupt IRGC financial schemes using cryptocurrency. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US had seized about $1 billion in Iran-linked crypto assets.