The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday sanctioned crypto exchanges Shelbit Exchange and Aban Tether, alleging they helped Iran move money outside the conventional banking system and evade sanctions, according to a CoinDesk report. The action marks an expansion of Washington’s yearlong campaign against digital asset networks that it says are funneling funds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
IRGC-linked wallets transferred over $1 million in crypto to a Shelbit address, the Treasury said. While Aban Tether does not appear connected to stablecoin giant Tether, the name coincidence highlights the scrutiny on entities touching Iranian-linked flows. Tether itself has been pursuing diversification into real‑world asset tokenization, including a recent move into Saudi Arabian real estate, as detailed in BTC-Pulse’s coverage of Tether’s expansion into Saudi Arabia.
Widening Sanctions on Crypto Networks
Friday’s designations extend a crackdown that in 2026 already hit Nobitex, other Iranian exchanges, and wallets linked to Iran’s central bank. Authorities say Tehran increasingly relies on crypto and foreign currency to fund proxy groups and the IRGC amid the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict. OFAC also blacklisted Siavash Kayvanpour and companies tied to him in Georgia, Poland, and the UAE, signaling a global reach against facilitators.
Implications for Stablecoin Issuers and Exchanges
The new sanctions raise the compliance stakes for stablecoin issuers and trading platforms. Any exchange that inadvertently processes funds connected to designated Iranian entities faces legal and reputational risk. For firms like Tether, the episode reinforces the need for robust on-chain monitoring and swift asset freezing capabilities. Industry observers expect further OFAC actions targeting wallets and exchanges acting as conduits for sanctioned regimes, making sanctions screening a critical operational priority.
