US Treasury sanctions crypto exchanges over Iran – 2 in January 2026

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned two UK-registered crypto exchanges – Zedcex Exchange Ltd. and Zedxion Exchange Ltd. – over alleged Iran- and IRGC-linked activity in a first-of-its-kind OFAC move targeting exchange infrastructure. The designations list multiple TRON (TRX) addresses tied to the entities, putting immediate screening and blocking obligations on U.S. persons and compliance teams worldwide.

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Context

Treasury framed the action as part of broader sanctions against Iranian officials tied to violent repression and related networks, naming Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni Kalagari among those designated. OFAC’s “Recent Actions” update for the same package lists six additional Iranian individuals alongside Babak Morteza Zanjani and the two exchanges.

This is also a precedent: Treasury said this “marks OFAC’s first designation of a digital asset exchange for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy.” TRM Labs described the move as a shift toward disrupting “platform governance, ownership, and infrastructure-level control,” rather than focusing only on tracing individual illicit transactions after the fact.

Details

Treasury designated Babak Morteza Zanjani, describing him as “freed from imprisonment in order to launder money for the regime” and as a financial backer of major IRGC-linked projects. Treasury also said Zedcex and Zedxion have processed large volumes tied to IRGC-linked counterparties and connected the exchanges to Zanjani.

In the same press release, Treasury said Zedcex has processed over $94 billion in transactions since its registration in August 2022, and that Zedxion was registered in May 2021 and initially listed Zanjani as its director. OFAC’s SDN update lists the entities’ addresses in London and enumerates seven TRX “Digital Currency Address” entries associated with the Zedcex listing.

Separately, TRM Labs’ on-chain and corporate analysis reported that Zedcex and Zedxion “appear to function as a single exchange” and processed approximately $1 billion in funds linked to the IRGC across 2023–2025. TRM broke that down as roughly $23.7 million in 2023, roughly $619.1 million in 2024 (about 87% of activity), and roughly $410.4 million in 2025 (about 48% of activity).

Impact

Treasury’s statement set the tone for enforcement expectations. “Treasury will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that enrich themselves at the expense of the Iranian people. This includes the regime's attempts to exploit digital assets to evade sanctions and finance cybercriminal operations,” said Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury.

Elliptic said the seven TRON addresses listed by OFAC have processed more than $389 million, and that one address (TLvuvpfBKdxddxSsJefeiGCe9eVY8HUroE) received $149.3 million. Elliptic also noted that Zedcex was indirectly sanctioned earlier by Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (ASO 41/25) in September 2025, and that five addresses from that set were later listed by OFAC.

Next Steps

The SDN designations mean U.S. persons must block property and interests in property of the listed parties under U.S. jurisdiction, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from transactions involving them unless authorized. The OFAC SDN update provides explicit TRX addresses for screening, which compliance programs can use for proactive monitoring and interdiction.

The action also lands amid broader reporting on Iran-linked stablecoin usage. “These stablecoins were likely used to evade sanctions and support the plummeting value of Iran's currency, the rial,” wrote Tom Robinson, Co-founder at Elliptic, describing Iran-linked USDT activity cited in Elliptic reporting.

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P.S. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Always conduct your own research and make independent decisions.