U.S. sanctions Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Nobitex
The Facts
- The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on Nobitex on Tuesday, identifying it as Iran’s largest cryptocurrency or digital-asset exchange.
- U.S. officials accused Nobitex of helping the Iranian government and sanctioned or blacklisted state-linked institutions circumvent Western sanctions.
- The sanctions also targeted Nobitex executives, including chairman and co-founder Amir Hossein Rad.
- Treasury’s action extended beyond Nobitex to three other Iranian digital-asset exchanges: Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex.
- U.S. authorities said Nobitex processed more than 50% of Iranian digital-asset inflows or income in 2025, making it a major part of Iran’s crypto market.
- Treasury alleged Nobitex facilitated transactions connected to Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including sanctions-evasion activity.
- Reuters reported before the sanctions that Nobitex had become a central node in a parallel financial system handling hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s central bank and the IRGC, and the Treasury action followed that reporting.
- One unresolved point is that at least one report said Nobitex denied direct government ties or knowingly facilitating illicit transactions, while U.S. officials maintain the opposite in their sanctions case.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- Nobitex is being treated as a major piece of Iran’s sanctions-evasion infrastructure, with Treasury citing its dominant role in the country’s crypto market and alleged ties to the central bank, the IRGC, and other blacklisted institutions.
- They split on
- Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: the breadth of a wider Iranian crypto-financial network now being targeted, versus the need to make sanctions real by hitting the channels adversaries actually use.
Analytical frames for this storyTap to explore
Context
What is Nobitex?
Nobitex is described in multiple reports as Iran’s largest cryptocurrency or digital-asset exchange, and Treasury said it handled more than half of Iranian digital-asset inflows or income in 2025 NYT,Investing.com,Star.
Why did the U.S. sanction Nobitex?
Treasury said Nobitex helped the Iranian government and sanctioned entities evade financial restrictions, and it alleged the exchange facilitated transactions tied to Iran’s central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps NYT,Reuters,cnbctv18.com.
Did the sanctions only affect Nobitex?
No. Reports say the U.S. also sanctioned three other Iranian digital-asset exchanges—Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex—and named some Nobitex executives, including chairman and co-founder Amir Hossein Rad U.S. News & World R…,theepochtimes.com,Anadolu Ajansı.
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Wire services (11)
Independent coverage (50)
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