Sanctions on exchanges linked to Iran

For the first time, the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury) sanctioned entire crypto exchanges under the regime of specific sanctions against Iran (January 2026).

The affected:

Zedcex Exchange Ltd. and Zedxion Exchange Ltd. (both registered in the United Kingdom).

Linked to Babak Morteza Zanjani (Iranian businessman previously convicted of embezzlement, released and accused of financing the IRGC - Islamic Revolutionary Guard). $BTC

Reasons:

They processed transactions for the IRGC (considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.).

They facilitated sanction evasion through stablecoins (mainly USDT in #Tron ), with flows of nearly $1 billion in some cases.

Zedcex processed over $94 million in linked transactions. $BNB

This marks a milestone: the first time that OFAC sanctions complete crypto platforms for operating in the financial sector of Iran (not just individual wallets). $ETH