The U.S. has stepped up its crackdown on Iran’s crypto networks, sanctioning Shelbit, a Dubai-based crypto exchange that Washington says helped move millions of dollars for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other entities tied to the Iranian state.
The action came days after a Reuters investigation published on July 31 identified Shelbit as a key hub in an alleged $4 billion Iranian sanctions-evasion network.
The investigation found that the exchange had processed crypto linked to Iran’s central bank, a major illegal online gambling operation and wallet addresses that the Israeli government has tied to the IRGC.
U.S. sanctions Kayvanpour over IRGC, Nobitex support
The U.S. Treasury also sanctioned Siavash Kayvanpour, the Iranian expatriate who founded Shelbit. Washington accused Kayvanpour of providing material support to the IRGC and Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
Nobitex was itself sanctioned by the U.S. on June 2 for allegedly helping the Iranian government get around Western sanctions. That decision also followed a Reuters investigation into the exchange’s activities.
The latest sanctions show how crypto platforms can become an alternative route for moving money when traditional financial channels are blocked.
While crypto transactions are recorded on public blockchains, exchanges can still play a crucial role in converting, routing and transferring digital assets across borders. That has made them an increasingly important focus for regulators investigating sanctions evasion.
“Treasury will hunt down and dismantle the illicit financial networks that keep the regime afloat,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
The Treasury also sanctioned Aban Tether, an Iran-based crypto exchange, on Friday. U.S. authorities accused the platform of processing millions of dollars in transactions for sanctioned Iranian entities, including Nobitex.
Shelbit’s offline website raises questions
Shelbit’s operations have raised further questions because its website had been offline for months, leaving customers unable to conduct transactions.
Despite that, Reuters found that the exchange continued moving money, including during the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran. Its website came back online the day after the Reuters investigation was published.
Shelbit has denied the allegations. In a statement posted on its reactivated website on August 1, the company said it had not knowingly taken part in money laundering, terrorist financing, illegal gambling, sanctions evasion or activity on behalf of sanctioned military or government organizations. The company also said it had stopped operating in January 2026.
The Reuters investigation also found that tens of millions of dollars in crypto passing through Shelbit came from what investigators suspect was an Iranian bitcoin mining operation. Bitcoin mining generates newly created coins, which can then be moved through exchanges and other crypto services.
Millions more were reportedly connected to an illegal gambling network run by two prominent Iranian social media influencers.
The case highlights why crypto exchanges have become an increasingly important part of sanctions enforcement. For U.S. authorities, targeting platforms such as Shelbit and Aban Tether is about cutting off financial routes that could allow sanctioned Iranian organizations to keep moving money outside the traditional banking system.
