US Treasury sanctions two Iran-linked crypto exchanges and an individual
The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on two cryptocurrency exchanges and a person accused of laundering about $5 million in digital assets tied to Iran.
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on an individual and two cryptocurrency exchanges it said facilitated the laundering of roughly $5 million in digital assets linked to Iran.
The designated parties have been added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, barring U.S. persons from conducting transactions with them and freezing any assets under U.S. jurisdiction.
According to the Treasury, the exchanges processed transactions that helped evade sanctions and fund illicit activities, highlighting concerns that crypto platforms can be exploited for sanction evasion.
The action follows a series of recent measures targeting crypto firms with connections to sanctioned jurisdictions, underscoring heightened enforcement of anti‑money‑laundering (AML) compliance in the digital asset sector.
No further details on the identities of the individual or the exchanges were disclosed; the sanctions took effect immediately.
Marcus reports on digital assets, from spot ETF flows to protocol-level developments in DeFi. He pays particular attention to how institutional adoption is reshaping crypto market structure.
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