The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Shelbit Exchange and Iran-based Aban Tether, saying the platforms helped Iran move funds through crypto channels. The action extends Washington’s 2026 campaign against Iran-linked digital asset networks, including exchanges and wallets tied to sanctioned entities.
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Shelbit Exchange and Iran-based Aban Tether, saying the platforms helped Iran move funds through crypto channels. The action extends Washington’s 2026 campaign against Iran-linked digital asset networks, including exchanges and wallets tied to sanctioned entities.
The move matters for crypto companies because it raises compliance pressure on exchanges, stablecoin issuers and blockchain service providers that may handle funds connected to Iranian entities. The case also shows how sanctions enforcement is increasingly focused on crypto rails, where transactions can bypass banks but still leave blockchain records that investigators can trace.
The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned two crypto exchanges, Shelbit Exchange and Iran-based Aban Tether, as part of a widening effort to restrict Iran’s access to digital assets and foreign currency. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the platforms helped Iran move money outside the traditional banking system and support networks linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The move matters for crypto companies because it raises compliance pressure on exchanges, stablecoin issuers and blockchain service providers that may handle funds connected to Iranian entities. The case also shows how sanctions enforcement is increasingly focused on crypto rails, where transactions can bypass banks but still leave blockchain records that investigators can trace.
According to Treasury, wallets linked to the IRGC sent more than $1 million in crypto to Shelbit addresses, while more than $2 million moved from Shelbit addresses to IRGC wallets. Treasury also said wallets belonging to or controlled by Siavash Kayvanpour sent over $2 million to Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange. Kayvanpour and several companies tied to him in Georgia, Poland and the United Arab Emirates were also sanctioned.
Aban Tether was accused of processing millions of dollars in transactions involving sanctioned Iranian exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex. CoinDesk reported that the exchange does not appear to be connected to stablecoin issuer Tether, though it had contacted Tether for confirmation.
The designations follow earlier U.S. actions in 2026 targeting Iran’s crypto finance network. In January, Treasury sanctioned Zedcex and Zedxion, and in June it blacklisted Nobitex and several other Iranian crypto exchanges. Last month, the U.S. also sanctioned four crypto wallets linked to Iran’s central bank, after which Tether froze about $131 million held in those wallets.
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