The Treasury Department announced on June 2, 2026, that it has sanctioned Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, as part of new measures aimed at addressing the country's ability to launder illicit funds. This action is part of Operation Economic Fury, which parallels the military's Operation Epic Fury. Previously, the Treasury had blacklisted two U.K.-based cryptocurrency exchanges linked to the Iranian regime following a crackdown on protests in January.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Iran's economic struggles are exacerbated by the regime's use of digital asset technologies to evade sanctions and transfer wealth. He noted that the Iranian cryptocurrency ecosystem was valued at over $7.78 billion in 2025, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accounting for a significant portion of blockchain activity.
Bessent mentioned that approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency has been seized from the Iranian regime as part of the operation. The SWIFT international payment network had previously cut off Iranian banks from its services in 2012 and again in 2018, complicating Iran's financial transactions. However, the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency poses challenges for enforcing sanctions.
In addition to Nobitex, sanctions were also imposed on its Chairman Amir Hossein Rad and other executives, as well as on other Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges including Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. The announcement coincided with hearings involving senior Trump administration officials discussing Iran's nuclear program negotiations.
