The US Treasury Department has formally brought Iran’s digital asset sector under expanded sanctions authority, giving the Office of Foreign Assets Control wider power to target foreign individuals and companies that operate in or support the country’s cryptocurrency activity. The determination, issued on August 24 under Executive Order 13902, places digital assets alongside technology, gold, aviation and shipping as covered sectors.

Treasury officials framed the step as part of Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has described as an economic “D-Day” aimed at isolating Iranian financial networks. The same package sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels linked to nuclear, missile, cyber and oil-related activities.

Broker Accused of Processing Crypto for Oil Sales

Central to the announcement is the designation of Ivan Obukhov, a Ukrainian national based in the United Arab Emirates, and his company Foscom FZE. Treasury alleged that Obukhov processed more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments since 2023 to facilitate oil sales on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

Officials said Obukhov acted as a vessel broker arranging shipments tied to Iran’s military and associated groups. Foscom FZE, which he acquired in 2022, was described as the vehicle for these activities. The Treasury release did not publish specific wallet addresses, transaction records or counterparties supporting the $100 million figure.

Sector-Wide Authority Broadens Enforcement Reach

Unlike earlier actions that named individual exchanges, the new determination allows OFAC to sanction any person determined to operate in Iran’s digital asset sector or provide supporting services, regardless of location. Participation in the sector can now serve as the legal basis for future designations under the executive order.

The measure does not automatically block every crypto firm with Iranian users. Specific parties must still be identified and designated before assets are frozen or transactions restricted. Designated parties’ US-linked property and interests must be blocked, and entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked parties are also covered. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for designated parties risk restrictions on access to US correspondent or payable-through accounts.

Sequence of Prior Crypto Designations

The sectoral expansion follows a series of targeted measures throughout 2026. In January, OFAC sanctioned the UK-registered platforms Zedcex and Zedxion, described as its first Iran-related designations of digital asset exchanges. On June 3, it sanctioned four Iranian exchanges including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex, citing an alleged multi-billion-dollar sanctions-evasion network. Days earlier, officials reported seizing nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency from Iranian-linked exchanges and wallets.

On August 7, OFAC added Shelbit and Aban Tether, alleging the two processed a combined roughly $5 million connected to sanctioned Iranian platforms and other restricted parties. Separate actions earlier in the year included freezes of more than $100 million in stablecoins linked to Iran’s central bank.

Blockchain analytics previously estimated that Iran-linked actors moved billions through certain global platforms, while Iran’s overall crypto ecosystem was valued at several billion dollars in 2025. IRGC-linked wallets accounted for a substantial share of tracked inflows in parts of that period.

Implications for Global Firms and Banks

The expanded authority raises compliance stakes for overseas brokers, payment processors, wallet operators and technology providers. Companies need not maintain a direct Iranian client list to face potential exposure if OFAC concludes they supported the covered sector. Foreign banks face particular pressure because loss of US dollar clearing access can effectively cut them off from major international payment systems.

Treasury officials indicated the August 24 actions mark the start of sustained enforcement. Bessent stated that foreign governments assisting Iranian activity “cannot claim they are blind” and that the administration would move quickly with specific requests to cease interactions with the regime. Officials said individual timelines have been communicated to partner countries for winding down flagged activities.

Crypto firms and financial institutions are now expected to intensify screening of OFAC designations, associated wallet addresses and ownership structures. The practical effect is a lower threshold for scrutiny across the service layer that supports digital asset activity potentially connected to Iranian trade and military networks.

The campaign presents Iran with a binary choice between continued isolation and a path back into the international economy contingent on changes in conduct that Washington regards as threatening. For global market participants, the immediate result is heightened diligence requirements around any counterparties or intermediaries that could intersect with the newly covered sectors.