The measures are intended to prevent the emergence of “heirs” to the Russian crypto exchange Garantex, which the EU sanctioned last year.
The sanctions mark the first time digital asset platforms were sanctioned directly by the U.S. government in relation to the Iranian government's actions.
The exchanges were accused of facilitating transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and are linked to an Iranian businessman convicted of embezzlement.
TRM Labs estimates that illicit crypto volume surged to an all-time high of $158 billion in 2025, representing just 1.2% of total crypto volumes.
While the increasingly professional bad guys' crypto rocketed to $158 billion in 2025, it's still a decreasing share of overall digital assets activity.
The U.S. Treasury tied Wedding’s network to a web of sanctioned crypto wallets across five blockchains, pointing to a laundering operation.
Elliptic traced more than $500 million in USDT tied to Iran’s central bank, suggesting the stablecoin was used to manage foreign-exchange pressures and build a “sanctions-proof” alternative to dollar banking.
Chainalysis said Iran’s crypto ecosystem topped $7.78 billion in 2025 as IRGC-linked activity grew and BTC withdrawals surged during unrest.
Prospective customers could purchase weapons such as missiles, tanks and drones using crypto, according to a government website.
Iran has already been utilizing crypto to evade Western sanctions for years, according to findings from the US Treasury.
The Treasury Department sanctioned eight individuals and two entities accused of using crypto and shell companies to funnel millions into Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
Canada's FINTRAC said the exchange failed to report thousands of high-risk crypto transactions tied to darknet markets and Iranian transfers.
As the Justice Department pursues Prince Group's leader, the Treasury Department sanctioned the company while also severing Huione from the U.S. finance.
The accused is said to have forced people to work in Cambodian compounds part of large-scale crypto scam network.
Monetary Authority of Singapore spokesperson tells CoinDesk that entities not regulated as financial institutions are not subject to sanctions measures.
Singapore made a bold move in its usual foreign policy of neutrality by sanctioning Promsvyazbank, a bank associated with the ruble stablecoin issuer A7A5, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But A7A5 was able to legally
make an appearance at Token2049 because the conference is organized by a Hong Kong entity.
Binance agreed to a compliance monitorship as part of its plea deal with the DOJ in 2023 over money-laundering and sanctions violations.
Israel flagged 187 crypto addresses allegedly linked to the IRGC. Elliptic says the wallets received $1.5B in USDT, though not all may belong to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a cybercriminal network across Southeast Asia tied to crypto investment scams.
U.S. officials accused Garantex, Grinex, A7A5 token issuers and executives of laundering ransomware proceeds and evading sanctions.
In 2023, Roman Storm was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations for operating Tornado Cash.
U.K.-based crypto asset firms also face a high risk of being targeted by North Korean hackers, many of which operate on behalf of sanctioned entities, the report said.
The U.S. Treasury Department added the employee of a North Korean hacking group to its blacklist over his role in getting IT workers jobs in other countries.
A U.S. appeals court has granted a joint motion to vacate a case between the Treasury Department and Coin Center over the agency's sanctioning of crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
Venture capital firm Paradigm has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm.
The Ethereum Foundation has donated $500,000 to support Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm's defense.
Iurii Gugnin, a 38-year-old New York resident and Russian national, was arrested and arraigned Monday on charges related to the alleged scheme.
According to OFAC, Funnull Technology Inc. provides computer infrastructure for “hundreds of thousands” of pig butchering websites.
The wallets received payments directly from Huione Pay, a subsidiary of Huione Group.
Treasury sanctioned a company accused of enabling multiple "pig butchering" scams, which defrauded U.S. victims of more than $200 million.