Crypto Exchanges Face Compliance Risks Amid US Iran Sanctions Probe

The U.S. Treasury Department is investigating whether crypto platforms and financial infrastructure have helped Iran evade international sanctions, shifting enforcement efforts from individual wallets toward exchanges, liquidity hubs, and stablecoin payment rails.

The move follows new sanctions imposed last week by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against exchanges operating within Iran’s financial system, marking the first time crypto trading platforms have been directly targeted under Iran-related sanctions measures.

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Enforcement Focus Moves Beyond Wallets

Ari Redbord, global head of policy at blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, said that authorities are increasingly concerned about service-layer infrastructure that allows sanctioned actors repeatable access to global markets.

He explained that enforcement concern rises when activity shifts from isolated wallet use to organized systems such as exchanges, liquidity corridors, and payment networks capable of supporting sustained sanctioned finance operations.

TRM Labs identified one example involving Zedcex, a cryptocurrency exchange allegedly linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to TRM data, the exchange processed about $1 billion in transactions connected to the IRGC, representing roughly 56% of its transaction volume and reaching 87% during 2024.

In fact, Redbord pointed out that hitting the pipes, or the infrastructure, causes more harm than hitting individual wallets. Once an address is listed, it loses its day-to-day usefulness in short order.

Iran’s Crypto Usage Expands Under Sanctions Pressure

Iran’s crypto trade volume for the last year reached an estimated $8 to 10 billion, as reported by crypto analytics companies TRM Labs and Chainalysis. Both entities and individuals have increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies as a means of currency due to a lack of access to finance.

OFAC has also moved to sanction two UK-registered exchanges, Zedcex and Zedxion, for allegedly facilitating transactions linked to the IRGC. The U.S. authorities have pointed out that one of the exchanges has facilitated over $94 billion in transactions since its registration in 2022.

The company Chainalysis estimates that Iranian wallets collected $7.8 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025, up from $7.4 billion in 2024 and $3.17 billion in 2023. The company estimates that half of last year’s volume may be linked to IRGC-related activity, although some of the activity may be attributed to regular people seeking currency stability and global financial services.

Why This Matters

Stricter enforcement of sanctions could change the face of global exchanges and their providers of liquidity, increasing the overall risk for cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide.

Investors could face more restricted transactions as regulators target exchanges and other cryptocurrency-related infrastructure, which could reduce accessibility and increase costs for exchanges that facilitate users.

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