Bitcoin-backed Hormuz tolls draw U.S. sanctions on Tehran exchange

The U.S. Treasury designated Tehran-based BitBank and its software developer Pishtaz Simorgh for moving hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and handling payments routed through Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which charges tankers $1–$2 million for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The sanctions freeze BitBank’s assets and threaten foreign firms that process its transactions, signaling that Iran’s crypto infrastructure is within OFAC’s reach. The Hormuz tolls have increasingly used BitBank to pass collected funds to regime entities, though OFAC did not publish any wallet addresses.